The Wheatland Kings were off to a great start in the first period of their home game against the Stettler Lightning at the Strathmore Family Centre on Friday night.

The team blanked the Lightning in the first period bringing the score to 3-0 Kings. Isaac Benoit had a big night for the Wheatland Kings, earning a hat-trick. Kings goalie Riley Stovka also had a great game making 28 saves.

The Kings opened up the first period with Benoit's first for the night from Garret Vander Ploeg, only to turn around a couple minutes later and make it 2-0 Kings as Lucas Muenchrath slapped the puck past Stettler goalie Dalton Beck, with assists from Vander Ploeg and Benoit. The Lightning tried pulling their goalie and there was a short timeout, but the Kings got another point on the score board on a powerplay at 7:28 in the first when Vander Ploeg scored from Brenden Moore and Muenchrath.

There was a scrappy second period with no scoring, but at the start of the third period the Kings were back with Kyle Bracko getting the puck in the Stettler net from Adrian Kusu.

Benoit got his second of the night unassisted at 12:22 in the third making it 5-0 Kings. Before a push from the Lightning in the third period got the visitors a point on the board with Kieran Rost's goal from Brenden Tucker and Jonathan Fournier. With a couple minutes left on the clock, Tucker scored for the Lightning from Rost and Fournier, then Wheatland Kings Benoit earned his hat-trick goal from Muenchrath and Moore making it 6-2 Kings. A late powerplay in the last few seconds of the game gave Stettler's Braydon Whiteford a goal from Rost bringing the final score to 6-3 Wheatland Kings. Next, the Kings play the Red Deer Vipers on the road on Saturday September 29 at 8 p.m. 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wheatland Kings #18 Cole Busslinger wins a puck battle in the corner behind the Lightning net.