Brent Salzl scored twice and added two assists for the Beaver Blues as Battleford beat the Radisson Wheatkings 7-3 at the Battleford Arena Wednesday night. The Beaver Blues are 3-1-1 in their last five games.
Battleford came out of the gate strong in the first period, leading to the first scoring chances of the game. Beaver Blues defenceman Greg Shury fanned on a shot after Salzl skated behind the net and centred the puck. In a similar play moments later, Brett Michnik passed the puck to the front of the net to Darren Poitras, whose shot was stopped by the blocker of Radisson goaltender Nathan Wurst.
Radisson's first chance came when the Beaver Blues were unable to clear the puck out of their zone. Wheatkings forward Brian Clarke cut across the front of the Beaver Blues' net, but his backhand attempt went wide.
Salzl opened the scoring seven minutes into the frame. Beaver Blues forward Scott Maunula's shot was stopped by Wurst, but Salzl pounced on the rebound and knocked the puck into the back of the net.
Wurst was forced to make another strong save shortly after the goal. He used his blocker to knock away Salzl's shot with eight minutes left in the period.
Battleford extended their lead on the power play with 5:24 left in the first. With Jamie Wuttunee in the box for elbowing, Beaver Blues forward Roddy Hoffman tapped in the rebound from Travis Keller's shot.
The Wheatkings had a chance to cut into the lead off a faceoff in the Beaver Blues zone, but Battleford goaltender Mitch Hawtin used his shoulder to stop Kelly Cronin's wrist shot.
It was a slow start to the second period with much of the first five minutes spent in the neutral zone.
The first chance of the second came when Radisson forward Shaun Rose pushed the puck ahead of him to get a breakaway. Hawtin skated out to meet Rose and knocked the puck off Rose's stick.
The Beaver Blues went up 3-0 6:14 into the period. Salzl scored his second of the night and 15th of the season when he slid the puck through Wurst's five-hole. Battleford added another goal 12 seconds later as Hoffman beat Wurst to put the Beaver Blues up 4-0.
Radisson had a hard time finding the net. Dustin Bezugly received a cross-ice pass from Rose, but his shot went wide of the Battleford net.
Frustrations started to show on one of the Wheatkings' players. Following an uneventful Radisson power play, Wuttunee slammed his stick against the ice and skated away from the play in his own zone.
The outburst must have motivated the Radisson bench as they broke the shutout shortly after. Cronin was sent in on a breakaway, cut to his left in front of Hawtin and slid it past the Beaver Blues goaltender with 8:17 left in the second.
Battleford regained their four-goal lead 1:10 seconds later. Mike Nelson received a pass from Maunula and waited for an angle. As he hesitated, Wurst lost his balance and fell. Nelson used the opportunity to snap the puck in the top of the net to give the Beaver Blues a 5-1 lead.
The Wheatkings cut into the lead again about 30 seconds later. Dana Derbowka's shot went off the post and in to make the score 5-2.
Towards the end of the second, the Beaver Blues found themselves with a two-man advantage. Michnik had a fantastic opportunity to put Battleford up four, but missed a wide-open net after a nice cross-crease pass.
Radisson opened the third period on a power play, but was unable to find the back of the net. A Battleford turnover ended up on Frankie Moosomin's stick, but his backhand attempt was turned away by Hawtin.
Another turnover led to a scoring chance for the Wheatkings. Keller slipped as he crossed the blue line and Troy Rookes picked up the loose puck. Rookes broke in on net, but Hawtin smothered the shot in his body.
Battleford put the game away midway through the third period. Wurst tried to cover the puck with his glove, but could not find it. Michnik was in front of the net and jammed it home with 10:44 left in the game.
Maunula scored the seventh Beaver Blues' goal with 7:44 to play. He picked up the puck off the faceoff, deked around Wurst and slid the puck into the net.
Radisson added a goal with under four minutes to play before the physicality escalated. With 3:18 left, Rookes and Beaver Blues defenceman Jon Kachur were sent off for roughing for a skirmish after the whistle. In the same scrum, Battleford forward Kevin Russell was given a double minor for roughing.
Battleford captain Todd Heck was penalized for boarding with 39 seconds remaining, but Hawtin shut the door on the Wheatkings in the closing seconds.
Hawtin picked up his eighth win of the season for Battleford (8-3-1). The Beaver Blues sit third in the SPHL standings. The loss was Wurst's fifth of the season. The loss snapped a modest two game win streak for Radisson (5-8-1).
Battleford's next game is Saturday night against the Maymont Settlers. The Beaver Blues will celebrate Minor Hockey Night. The team is giving local minor hockey players free admission if they wear their jerseys to the game. Puck drop is 8 p.m. at the Battleford Arena.
