REDIRECTING TRAFFIC

Brandon, MB – With the current Covid-19 Pandemic, the internet has become a place that people rely on, maybe more than ever before.

With that being said, the on-air staff at QCountry and Star FM have worked extremely hard to keep residents in Westman informed.

I have decided that for the time being, I will funnel all my Wheat King related news to the QCountry and Star FM official webpages.

That way, while you scour the news for updates on the Pandemic, you can quickly access all the latest Wheat Kings news and notes in the same area.

Please CLICK HERE to read the latest on the NHL Draft Rankings, the WHL Bantam Draft and more.

Stay Safe!

RAIDERS GET REVENGE ON SATURDAY NIGHT

Brandon, MB – Brayden Watts scored twice and added an assist for a three-point night as the Prince Albert Raiders gained some breathing room atop the East Division, with a 4-2 win on Saturday night.

Ozzy Wiesblatt (1G-1A) and Aliaksi Protas (1G-1A) each had multi-point nights while Reid Perepeluk and Ben McCartney responded for the Wheat Kings.

The Wheat Kings outshot the Raiders in all three periods, but Max Paddock turned in another stellar performance, kicking aside 28 shots for the win.

“I thought we played hard tonight,” said Head Coach Dave Lowry. “We made some mistakes and the puck ended up in our net. We weren’t quite as sharp as we were last night. Prince Albert came in, played a solid road game and forced us into making some costly mistakes.”

Jiri Patera turned aside 18 shots in the Brandon goal and kept his team in the game until late in the third period when Watts scored his second of the night. Watts put up four goals and an assist in two games vs the Wheat Kings this weekend.

Brandon finished the night 1/5 on the powerplay, which included a pair of two-man advantages. The Raiders scored once on three opportunities.

“We created some good looks in the third period but we didn’t capitalize,” added Lowry. “We had 30 shots tonight, we had pucks going to the net, but we didn’t capitalize on our chances and we missed the net a lot. I won’t take anything from our effort. We have played a lot of hockey as of late and a lot of hard minutes and our guys gave it everything they had.”

The win puts the Raiders six-points up on the Wheat Kings atop the East Division, with five games remaining. Prince Albert will head to Winnipeg on Sunday to take on the ICE.

Meanwhile, Brandon will continue their four-game homestand on Friday night when the Regina Pats come to town (7:30 on QCountry Radio.)

SCORING SUMMARY

1st PERIOD

BWK – Ben McCartney (25) (Burzan, Greig) 15:56 5on3
P.A – Aliaksi Protas (31) (Watts, Aquillon) 17:35

Shots: 11-9 Brandon

2nd PERIOD

P.A – Brayden Watts (28) (Wiesblatt) 0:48 PPG
BWK – Reid Perepeluk (6) (Kallionkieli, Burzan) 13:24
P.A – Ozzy Wiesblatt (25) (Usau, Kosier) 13:56

Shots: 13-9 Brandon

3rd PERIOD

P.A – Brayden Watts (29) (Protas, Masella) 16:35

Final Shots: 30-22 Brandon

GREIG LEADS BWK TO OVERTIME WIN

Prince Albert, SK – The Brandon Wheat Kings earned their fourth victory in a row on Friday night, knocking off the Prince Albert Raiders 3-2 in overtime.

Ridly Greig scored twice, including the game-winner as Brandon drew first blood in a weekend double-header with the East Division-leading Raiders.

“Guys could feel the energy tonight,” said Assistant Coach Mark Derlago. “We came out hard and did a lot of little things right tonight. We were throwing the body, taking hits and blocking shots. It was a fun one and it’s nice to come away with two points.”

This game had a playoff feel from the opening puck drop. Both teams were engaged physically and the volume inside the Art Hauser Centre was turned up to eleven.

The Raiders opened the scoring on a goofy bounce in front of Jiri Patera. The puck came off the stick of Brayden Watts, deflected off a Wheat King leg in front of the crease and over the shoulder of the Brandon netminder.

Despite giving up the first goal, the Wheat Kings quickly responded. Jake Chiasson grabbed his own rebound from a failed rush up the ice and buried his 5th of the year over the shoulder of Max Paddock, who finished with 32 saves vs his hometown team.

Brandon took their first lead of the night early in the second, Ridly Greig took a pass from Cole Reinhardt and undressed Paddock for his 25th of the season.

Before the period would end, Brandon got hemmed in their own end and the Raiders made them pay. Watts took a pass from Spencer Moe in the corner and buried his 2nd of the game to put the game back to square one at the intermission.

“Everyone got involved tonight,” added Derlago. “In games like this there is some line matching going on, but it was nice to see guys get involved when their number was called.”

Brandon outshot the Raiders 8-7 in the third period, but couldn’t get the go-ahead marker.

Just 0:29 into overtime, Ridly Greig found a loose puck and was home free from the Brandon line. His quick wrist shot fooled Paddock and sent the Wheat Kings home with the extra point.

The goal was Greig’s fourth game-winner of the season and his two-point night extended his point streak to seven games.

Meanwhile, the Raiders are now tied with Kelowna for the most extra-time appearances with 16.

Brandon now sits four points back of the Raiders for the top spot in the East Division, while Winnipeg and Saskatoon both earned victories on Friday night, helping them keep pace in this four-horse race.

The Wheat Kings and Raiders will do it all over again on Saturday night at Westoba Place. (7:30 on QCountry Radio.)

NOTES: The Wheat Kings announced on Thursday that if the club is required to play their home games away from Westoba Place due to playoff positioning and the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, those games will be played in Virden at Tundra Oil & Gas Place.

Also on Thursday, the team announced that 2020-2021 Season Tickets will remain the same price. However, the Keystone Centre has installed a new “Facility Fee” that will be added to the total price of the packages. The fee will be $34.00 for adult ticket packages, $30.00 for senior packages and $20.00 for children’s packages. For more details, CLICK HERE. 

SCORING SUMMARY

1st PERIOD

P.A – Brayden Watts (26) (Protas) 14:11
BWK – Jake Chiasson (5) (Sekundiak) 16:28

Shots: 15-7 Brandon

2nd PERIOD

BWK – Ridly Greig (25) (Reinhardt, Gutenberg) 4:13
P.A. – Brayden Watts (27) (Protas, Moe) 13:32

Shots: 13-10 Prince Albert

3rd PERIOD

No Scoring

Shots: 9-7 Brandon

OVERTIME

BWK – Ridly Greig (26) (Unassisted) 0:29

Final Shots: 34-27 Brandon

WHEATIES SWEEP ROAD TRIP

Photo by Erica Perreaux

Lethbridge, AB – The Brandon Wheat Kings earned another huge two-points in a 4-3 win in Lethbridge on Saturday night.

The Wheat Kings scored twice on the powerplay and got 26 saves from Ethan Kruger en route to their third straight victory, earning them a clean sweep of this Central Division road trip.

“I like how we responded after a slow start,” said Assistant Coach Mark Derlago. “It felt like we dipped our toes in the water a bit in the first period but we came out hard in the second and third period and that’s how we wanted to play and it got us the win.”

Dylan Cozens opened the scoring and would finish the night with his team-leading third hat-trick of the season.

Ridly Greig (1G-1A) and Lynden McCallum (2A) registered multi-point nights for Brandon, while Connor Gutenberg, Marcus Sekundiak and Cole Reinhardt added singles for the BWK.

With memories of the January 25th game where the Hurricanes came back from down 3-0 and 4-1 fresh in their minds, the Wheat Kings locked this game down in the third period and held Lethbridge to just eight shots in the final 20 minutes.

“That’s a very good team over there,” added Derlago. “They don’t quit, they keep coming at you and they were right in it until the final horn tonight. It’s a tough team to play and a tough barn to win in but we’re happy to get the two points tonight.”

The win gives Brandon 74 points, just one back of the East Division-leading Prince Albert Raiders. This sets up a massive home and home series between these two clubs, starting Friday in Northern Saskatchewan.

“It’s a huge weekend on the horizon here,” added Derlago. “The good thing is, we get a week of practice and we will reset and re-focus and get ready for a tough two-game battle.”

SCORING SUMMARY

1st PERIOD

LETH – Dylan Cozen (34) (Cotton, Okulair) 6:22

Shot: 10-6 Lethbridge

2nd PERIOD

BWK – Ridly Greig (24) (McCallum, Schmiemann) 3:31
BWK – Connor Gutenberg (15) (McCallum) 9:44 PPG
LETH – Dylan Cozens (35) (Stringer, Okuliar) 11:47

Shots: 15-12 Lethbridge

3rd PERIOD

BWK – Marcus Sekundiak (9) (Perepeluk, Iorio) 6:23
BWK – Cole Reinhardt (31) (Greig, McCartney) 9:48 PPG
LETH – Dylan Cozens (36) (Cotton) 17:43 6on5

Final Shots: 38-29 Brandon

PATERA, REINHARDT LEAD BRANDON TO WIN IN CALGARY

Calgary, AB – Cole Reinhardt scored twice in thirteen seconds to help the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 3-2 win over the Calgary Hitmen at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday night.

Jiri Patera was excellent on Friday night, turning aside 35 shots including a heroic paddle save late in the second period to keep the Wheat Kings in front 3-1.

“That is a great win for the guys,” said Assistant Coach Mark Derlago. “It had a playoff feel to it tonight. We came out a little flat, but as the game went on you could see guys finding ways to get involved, it was a good two points for us.”

Specialty teams played a significant role on Friday night, thirteen powerplays were handed out but neither team could capitalize on the man advantage.

“It’s tough with all the penalties,” added Derlago. “It was a tightly called game, but that was the standard and it went both ways. It’s hard to get four lines rolling in a game like that, so you have to find different ways to get guys into the game.”

Ridly Greig opened the scoring in the first period in what could be considered for the goal of the year. Right off a short-handed offensive zone draw, Greig snapped the puck forward, through the legs of Hitmen goalie Brayden Peters and into the net before anyone on the Hitmen knew what was happening.

Peters would finish the night with 16 saves after being fooled on that play by Greig in the first period.

While neither team could find success on the powerplay, the Hitmen scored twice while shorthanded, something the coaching staff was not happy with.

“We were thinking more about offense and forgot that you have to outwork the other team,” added Derlago. “On the powerplay, you have five guys, they have four you have to outwork them. We forgot that and they made us pay.”

The win moves Brandon to within one point of the East Division-leading Prince Albert Raiders, who lost in Saskatoon tonight. The Winnipeg ICE also lost tonight in Red Deer, leaving them three points back of the Wheat Kings.

The Wheat Kings will wrap up this three-game Central Division road trip on Saturday night in Lethbridge. (8:00 on QCountry Radio).

SCORING SUMMARY

1st PERIOD

BWK – Ridly Greig (23) (Unassisted) 9:52 SHG

Shots: 12-7 Calgary

2nd PERIOD

BWK – Cole Reinhardt (29) (Schneider) 3:27
BWK – Cole Reinhaedt (30) (Unassisted) 3:40
CGY – Mark Kastelic (35) (Unassisted) 9:24 SHG

Shots: 11-9 Calgary

3rd PERIOD

CGY – Riley Stotts (24) (Focht) 11:01 SHG

Final Shots: 37-19 Calgary

WHEAT KINGS BOOK TICKET TO THE DANCE

Swift Current, SK – After a one-year hiatus, the Brandon Wheat Kings will return to the WHL Playoffs after a 9-1 win in Swift Current on Wednesday night.

The Wheat Kings got goals from eight different skaters and 19 saves from Jiri Patera en route to their 32nd win of the season.

“A lot of guys chipped in on the scoresheet tonight and you love to see that,” said Assistant Coach Mark Derlago. “We came here for two-points, a lot of guys got involved tonight and we got them.”

Luka Burzan finished the night with two goals and an assist while the biggest cheer of the night came when Dom Schmiemann hammered home his first goal as a Wheat King at the end of the first period. Schmiemann hadn’t scored in 151 days and was visibly relieved to get the monkey off his back.

Brandon fired 46 shots towards Isaiah DiLaura, while Jiri Patera had a relatively easy night, kicking aside 19 shots.

Ridly Greig, Cole Reinhardt, and Connor Gutenberg all registered multi-point nights while 16 of the 18 skaters Brandon had dressed, registered at least a single point.

“You see the score climb up there and it’s not an easy game to play,” added Derlago. “You have to stay within the plan and stick to what’s working and I think we did that tonight.”

The win clinches Brandon a spot in the 2020 WHL Playoffs, marking a return to the post-season for the first time since April 13th, 2018. That night, Brandon was eliminated in the 6th game of the second round by the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Brandon has had just two home playoff games since the 2016 Ed Chynoweth Cup Championship season, a streak this coaching staff is looking to end.

“It’s the best time of year, to be honest,” said Derlago. “Especially being a home town guy, getting into the Keystone and playing in front of that crowd. They get into it and it’s a ton of fun to be a part of.”

Wednesday’s win moves Brandon into sole possession of 2nd place in the East Division, one point ahead of Winnipeg and just three points back of 1st place Prince Albert.

This three-game Central Division road trip will continue on Friday night when the Wheat Kings head to Calgary to take on the Hitmen. (8:00 on QCountry Radio)

SCORING SUMMARY

1st PERIOD

BWK – Connor Gutenberg (14) (Burzan, Salame) 4:21
BWK – Dom Schmiemann (2) (Sekundiak, Perepeluk) 17:57

Shots: 17-5 Brandon

2nd PERIOD

BWK – Ridly Greig (22) (Schmiemann) 0:54
BWK – Ben McCartney (24) (Unassisted) 3:54
S.C. – Justin Svenson (3) (Bulych, Hendren) 7:47
BWK – Chad Nychuk (7) (Greig, Iorio) 12:08
BWK – Luka Burzan (34) (Thiessen, Reinhardt) 14:41

Shots: 12-11 Brandon

3rd PERIOD

BWK – Lynden McCallum (19) (Lambos, Gutenberg) 2:02
BWK- Luka Burzan (35) (Reinhardt) 4:43
BWK – Riley Ginnell (3) (Chiasson) 19:29

Final Shots: 46-20 Brandon

PRATT WINS IT IN OT, BWK EARN SINGLE POINT

Photo by Keith Hershmiller

Regina, SK – The Brandon Wheat Kings earned a single point on Sunday, in a 4-3 overtime loss in Regina.

The Wheat Kings had a lead with just over three minutes to play in regulation but gave up a short-handed goal to Carter Chorney, sending this game to overtime.

“It’s disappointing to give up the short-handed goal late,” said Assistant Coach Mark Derlago. “I liked our jump early, but I think you could see that some guys weren’t there mentally tonight in comparison to what we have been. This weekend was a grind, but it was the third game in three nights for Regina too so there are no excuses.”

Brandon had 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 leads on Sunday afternoon, with goals from Chad Nychuk, Ben McCartney, and Ridly Greig.

Ethan Kruger kicked aside 24 shots for the Wheat Kings, while Donovan Buskey stopped 31 shots for the victory.

Former Wheat King Zach Wytinck chipped in offensively for Regina, along with Arizona native Jake Johnson. Austin Pratt scored the game-winner, just 2:13 into extra time lifting the Pats to their 20th win of the season.

The loss ends a busy stretch of hockey for Brandon who played seven games in the last eleven days, putting up a 4-2-1-0 record and earning nine of a possible 14 points.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Wheat Kings as they head out on the road this week for three Central Division matchups, starting Wednesday in Swift Current.

“We will head home and regroup and reset for the week ahead,” added Derlago. “We’ve got a busy stretch, we’re heading out on the road and we want to collect points.”

The single point earned on Sunday moves Brandon to within one of the Winnipeg ICE, who are in Edmonton on Tuesday. It also opens up a three-point gap on Saskatoon for 3rd place in the division.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st PERIOD

BWK – Chad Nychuk (6) (Sekundiak, Perepeluk) 8:10
REG – Zach Wytinck (7) (Johnson, Pratt) 9:23
BWK – Ridly Greig (21) (Schneider, Gutenberg) 15:56 PPG

Shots: 11-7 Regina

2nd PERIOD

REG – Jake Johnson (1) (Nijhoff) 16:28
BWK – Ben McCartney (23) (Gutenberg, Reinhardt) 17:23 PPG

Shots: 10-9 Brandon

3rd PERIOD

REG – Carter Chorney (6) (Nijhoff) 16:17 SHG

Shots: 9-7 Brandon

OVERTIME

REG – Austin Pratt (19) (Walker, Sedov) 2:13

Final Shots: 28-27 Regina

RAIDERS HANG ON FOR 2-1 WIN

Brandon, MB – Penalties were the difference maker in Saturday night’s 2-1 Prince Albert Raider victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The Raiders scored twice on six opportunities on route to their 32nd win of the season, adding some breathing room ahead of Winnipeg atop the East Division standings.

“Our discipline cost us,” said Head Coach Dave Lowry. “We took needless penalties tonight. We’ve been playing with emotion lately but it’s been controlled emotion. You can’t take penalties 200 feet from your own net. We had to work hard on the kill and it took a lot out of us tonight.”

After a scoreless first period, the Raiders opened the scoring on a two-man advantage. Ilya Usau poked home his 21st of the season, moving him into a tie for 3rd place on the WHL Rookie scoring list.

Ten minutes later, Ozzy Wiesblatt added another powerplay marker to give the Raiders a 2-0 lead after forty minutes.

The Wheat Kings bounced back with a solid effort in the third period, outshooting Prince Albert 9-8 and pushing hard for the late game equalizer after Braden Schneider got his team within one.

“I saw a team that didn’t quit tonight, It was a hard-fought game,” added Lowry. “We didn’t get the start we wanted. We were a little tired from last night, but we all know you have to be ready to play back-to-back nights. The Raiders were rested and they jumped on us early.”

Max Paddock made 19 saves in his hometown barn, earning his 20th win of the season and 10th since joining the Raiders. The former AAA Wheat King wasn’t tested too often on Saturday night, only facing four shots in the second period, and eleven through two periods.

“We spent too much time in our own zone tonight and you can’t score goals from there,” said forward Ridly Greig. “We needed to be harder on their defense. We didn’t get pucks deep and we didn’t give ourselves a chance to play in the offensive zone tonight.”

The Wheat Kings busy weekend will continue on Sunday as they turn their attention to a matinee affair vs the Regina Pats, the second this week. Game time from the Brandt Centre is 4:00 (3:30 pre-game show on QCountry Radio).

SCORING SUMMARY

1st PERIOD

No Scoring

Shots: 9-7 Prince Albert

2nd PERIOD

P.A – Ilya Usau (21) (Wiesblatt, Protas) 1:58 5on3
P.A – Ozzy Wiesblatt (22) (Protas, Watts) 12:13 PPG

Shots: 13-4 Prince Albert

3rd PERIOD

BWK – Braden Schneider (7) (Greig, Pierce) 4:18

Final Shots: 30-20 Prince Albert

SCHNIEDER, GUTENBERG HELP BRANDON BEAT EDMONTON

Brandon, MB – The Brandon Wheat Kings made a statement on Friday night, defeating the Central Division-leading Edmonton Oil Kings 5-2 at Westoba Place.

Connor Gutenberg (2G-1A) and Braden Schnieder (3A) each had three-point nights while Jiri Patera turned aside 30 Oil King shots, including several in highlight-reel fashion as Brandon picked up another two points in the East Division playoff race.

“I loved our effort tonight,” said Head Coach Dave Lowry.  “The last time we played these guys, they embarrassed us in their building and we took it personally. We played like it was a playoff game. We knew we were going to have to make amends and we were going to need everyone to play a certain way. We got on top of them, we finished checks, we got pressure and we got a couple early goals on the powerplay.”

Brandon jumped out to a 2-0 lead on powerplay goals just a minute apart, midway through the first period. The Wheat Kings would finish the night 3 for 6 on the man advantage.

Without Ty Thorpe, Nolan Ritchie, and Marcus Kallionkieli, Lowry elected to go with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen for the second straight game, something he says is not an issue if everyone is pulling the rope.

“We’ve talked about it since day one, if we’re going to be successful we have to play four lines and we need everyone going. We need our young guys to eat minutes, play a certain way and be responsible. With eleven forwards tonight, it was taxing on our guys, but we did a great job doing the little things and getting the job done.”

Luka Burzan, Vinny Iorio and Ben McCartney chipped in with goals for Brandon while Ethan McIndoe and Josh Williams did the scoring for the Oil Kings.

Brandon killed all four Edmonton powerplays, including a two-man advantage and a five-minute major penalty. The Wheat Kings have now killed fifteen straight penalties, something Braden Schnieder says is a result of everyone buying in.

“Your teammates are sacrificing their body for the win. When you see that happening it is a chain reaction. When you put your body in the way and block shots, everyone loves it and it gives the bench a boost.”

The win for Brandon improves their record to 31-20-3-2 (67 points), good enough to maintain sole possession of 3rd place in the East Division.

The Prince Albert Raiders roll into town on Saturday night and Brandon will be looking for some revenge following a 4-1 loss in P.A one week ago.

Game time at Westoba Place is 7:30 (7:00 on QCountry Radio).

SCORING SUMMARY

1st PERIOD

BWK – Luka Burzan (33) (Gutenberg, Schnieder) 10:31 PPG
BWK – Vinny Iorio (4) (Nychuk, Chiasson) 11:32
EDM – Ethan McIndoe (15) (Dowhaniuk) 13:20

Shots: 13-13

2nd PERIOD

BWK – Ben McCartney (22) (Schmiemann) 5:26
BWK – Connor Gutenberg (12) (McCartney, Schnieder) 19:27

Shots: 11-9 Brandon

3rd PERIOD

BWK – Connor Gutenberg (13) (Greig, Schnieder) 1:17 PPG
EDM – Josh Williams (21) (Sawchuk, Souch) 16:32

Final Shots: 32-29 Edmonton

KRUGER KICKS ASIDE 25 IN WIN OVER PATS

Regina, SK – A perfect night on the penalty kill helped propel the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 2-1 victory over the Regina Pats on Monday afternoon.

The Wheat Kings killed all five penalties they took, including a double-minor to Braden Schnieder on route to their 30th win of the season.

Luka Burzan and Ben McCartney scored for Brandon, while Drew Englot snuck the lone Pats goal past Ethan Kruger.

“I liked our bounce back from the loss on Saturday,” said Assistant Coach Mark Derlago. “It was a tough road loss and to come in here for an afternoon game, I felt we had good legs, we came out hard and we got the two points.”

Kruger was named the game’s first star, kicking aside 25 shots for his 10th win of the season. The Sherwood Park, AB native was just three minutes shy of his fourth career shutout.

The Pats were pushing for the equalizer late in the game, but Brandon got key shot blocks from Connor Gutenberg, Marcus Sekundiak and Jonny Lambos.

“We got huge shot blocks at the end of the game,” said Derlago. “All night long we saw guys putting their bodies on the line and getting in shooting lanes and that’s important this time of year.”

The win gives Brandon 65 points on the year and keeps them in sole possession of the third place in the East Division. It was an important weekend for Brandon, finishing with a record of 3-1-0-0 in the last six days.

Meanwhile, Winnipeg came back to beat Medicine Hat 4-2 moving them back into a tie atop the division with the Prince Albert Raiders (69 pts).

Brandon is back in action on Friday night at Westoba Place as they kick off a three-in-three weekend vs the Edmonton Oil Kings (7:30 on QCountry Radio).

SCORING SUMMARY

1st PERIOD

No Scoring

Shots 9-6 Brandon

2nd PERIOD

BWK – Ben McCartney (21) (Thiessen) 5:29

Shots: 12-8 Regina

3rd PERIOD

BWK – Luka Burzan (32) (Iorio, Reinhardt) 7:11
REG – Drew Englot (12) (Pratt, Johnson) 17:19

Final Shots: 26-24 Regina