Despite a number of controversial calls that didn’t go their way, the Weyburn Red Wings came away from Friday night’s matchup against the Kindersley Klippers with a 3-2 win. The victory is the second in a row for the Red Wings, who now have picked up points in their last five games.

The Red Wings believed they had gotten onto the board first just over five minutes into the first period, when Cole Woodliffe banged in a loose puck, just split seconds after a whistle from referee Chris Shore. The whistle was blown, as Shore believed Kindersley netminder Nick Trenciansky had frozen the puck. The Klippers, who spent much of the opening period in their own zone, were able to mount some pressure in the final three minutes of the opening frame.

On the power play, with Jarrett Metheral in the penalty box, Sam Binfet was the last player to touch a point shot from Holden Daley, and he got enough of it to direct it past Wings netminder Shaun Fleming. The goal shifted momentum into the favour of the Klippers, and they carried it with them into the second period.

Weyburn managed to finally turn things around with just under eight minutes to play in the second, when Ian Parker wristed home a shot over the right shoulder of Trenciansky. Tyran Brown picked up the first assist on the goal, and the other went to Jamieson Ree, who was making his first start as a Red Wing.

Less than six minutes later, though, the Klippers regained the lead. The puck was in the Red Wings crease, with Shaun Fleming covering it, when it was poked free by the Klippers, and Cody Hodgson put his stick on it to slide it past Fleming, making it a 2-1 game. After the goal, Red Wings head coach Wes Rudy was given a two minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, when he vocally demonstrated his displeasure with the lack of a quick whistle, which had resulted in the disallowed goal for the Wings in the first period.

In the third period, the dominant play of the Red Wings came back, as the puck spent considerable amounts of time in the Kindersley end. Ultimately, Mike Eskra would tie the game up, when his snap shot from the top of the slot beat Trenciansky, making it a 2-2 game. Carson Rose and Noah Wozney picked up the assists on the goal.

Wozney and Rose would team up again with just over five minutes in regulation, as Rose netted his eighth of the season, taking a backdoor feed from Wozney across the crease. Erik Olson picked up the second assist on the goal for the Red Wings.

In the dying minutes of the game, Kindersley pressured, and were unable to solve Fleming for a third time, despite having a power play, and having Trenciansky on the bench. Weyburn clamped down defensively, and earned their second win in a row, and first win on home ice since October 15th. The game did end the goal scoring streak of Jake Wozney, who had tallied in each of the previous six games for the Wings.

Weyburn will be back on the ice Saturday night, when they entertain the Yorkton Terriers. The Terriers come into the game with a 3-1 deficit in the season series against Weyburn, but pulled out a win in Weyburn in the last meeting between the two teams on November 9th. The game will also be the annual Teddy Bear Toss game for the Red Wings.