With 11 goals, a packed rink and overtime, the only thing missing last night at the Cranbrook Rec Plex was a win for the home side.

The visiting Brandon Wheat Kings didn't lead until it mattered, scoring on their only shot in the extra frame for a 6-5 victory over the Kootenay Ice.

In short, a season-high 4,410 fans saw an entertaining match.

“I thought both teams played hard, real physical, finished checks. There were lots of goals, lots of saves,” said Kootenay head coach Mark Holick. “I thought it was a good show, and hopefully we continue to have those people turn out.”

The Ice had brought a 5-4 lead into the third period, but Brayden Schenn tied the game with a big-league goal, and Scott Glennie put it away in OT.

“We played well,” said Kootenay centre Steele Boomer. “When they've got first-round (NHL) draft picks like Schenn and Glennie, and (Matt) Calvert and those guys that put the puck in at will, you can't make those little mistakes against these guys. It was just a few little mental errors, and they killed us on them.”

Kootenay limited Brandon to five shots in the third, but Schenn showed Cranbrook why the Los Angeles Kings picked him fifth overall in last summer's entry draft. He skated the puck from coast to coast and deked past Brayden McNabb before his shot snuck past Todd Mathews at 12:42.

The Ice nearly got back on top at 15:30. With a defender and goalie tangled up in the Wheat Kings' net, Max Reinhart fired a loose puck over the cage.

A minute into overtime Dustin Sylvester hit the crossbar, while later Hayden Rintoul had a shot squeeze through Jacob De Serres but stay in the crease.

Glennie put the game away at 3:29 of overtime, avoiding Mathews's stick check on a breakaway and scoring top shelf.

“I just thought we played a little too high risk against them,” said Holick. “When you do that against teams like that, you turn pucks over at the blue line and they can make something out of nothing in a hurry.”

The Ice had led or were tied throughout Tuesday's game.

The Ice struck on the power play 2:10, when James Martin's shot clanked off the post and came to rest behind Andrew Hayes. Luke Paulsen assisted on the goal, putting Kootenay's only Manitobans in on a goal against Manitoba's only major junior franchise.

Brandon's Mark Schneider scored a very similar goal 35 seconds later, also shooting from the point through a crowd.

Matt Fraser put the Ice back up at 7:24, after Reinhart caused a turnover.

Schenn evened it again, popping in his own powerplay rebound at 12:09.

The Ice made it 3-2 at 15:30, shortly after Brock Montgomery had thwarted the first of two Brandon clearing attempts. Joe Antilla pounced on a loose puck near the crease for his 12th goal of the campaign.

McNabb scored on a breakaway after exiting the sin bin, spelling the end of the night for Andrew Hayes (four goals on 10 shots) at 2:08.

Brodie Melnychuk scored just under two minutes later but Boomer restored the two-goal divide at 9:07. Powering to the net on the power play, Rintoul's cross-ice pass ricocheted off his knee and in.

Late in the second, the Ice faced a 1:23 stretch down two men. After apparently killing off the first penalty, Sylvester was hauled down by Brent Raedeke on a foot race for a loose puck.

As soon as the whistle was blown, the Brandon players lobbied for a review, believing they'd scored 5-on-3. After going to the video judges upstairs, that assessment was confirmed and the clock was reset to the time of the goal.

The penalty stood and a change in score wasn't reflected on the scoreboard until after the intermission.

Aaron Lewadniuk got credit, while Raedeke earned the second assist, getting a point 25 seconds before being whistled down for interference.

“I haven't read that deep into the rule book,” laughed Holick, who hadn't seen a replay immediately after the game. “During the scramble, I saw Lewadniuk jump up, so obviously he saw something.”

It wound up being a turning point.

“If we go into the third with a two-goal lead, that's almost money in the bank for us,” said Holick. “With a one-goal lead, it should be a situation where we should be able to put that away, but we played hard. We played a very, very good game. We managed the puck well in the third, especially later on.”

Although they would have preferred to take two points last night, the Ice realize getting one could make a difference when it comes to playoff seeding.

“One point is better than no points, especially because we're so tight in our division right now,” said Boomer.

Last night's sellout — augmented by the Support-a-School program —was a topic of conversation among the Ice in the days leading up to the game.

“It was awesome,” said Boomer. “You come out, and it's a whole different atmosphere than only having half the rink filled up. It felt almost like a playoff game to start off. It would be awesome if they keep that support up. It's not like we expect a sold-out arena every night, but it's definitely nice.”

The playoff feel was appropriate, given Brandon and Kootenay clashed in the first round in 2009.

“They ended our season last year, so we kind of want to pay them back a little bit,” said Boomer. “We've had some success against them this year (winning the previous two meetings), and I think part of that is because we have a sour taste in our mouth from them knocking us out last year.”

NOTES — The Wheat Kings feature nine drafted players, while McNabb is the sole member of the Ice whose rights belong to an NHL club (Buffalo)... Aside from McNabb's goal and assist, Kootenay had 11 players with one point last night.