Seven games in 11 days, that’s what the Brandon Wheat Kings went through over the past couple of weeks. It began on October 16th in Everett, Washington with a 3-2 loss against the Silvertips.
A handful of games later, thousands of miles later, and some ups and downs later, the trip ended over the weekend with a solid 5-1 win against the Swift Current Broncos.
Along the way, Brandon went 3-4. They are now 6-9 and that has them just outside the wildcard spots, one point behind the Moose Jaw Warriors and three behind the Calgary Hitmen.
“When you look at the trip as a whole our record isn’t as good as we wanted, but realistically we were in six of the seven games,” said assistant coach Don MacGillivray. “I thought we played well in a lot of our games out there. We’re getting better and you can see the progress being made. When you get rewarded for it, it reinforces that fact.”
One of the talking points is other teams having games in hand on the Wheat Kings. Brandon has played 15 games. In the Eastern Conference, only the Saskatoon Blades (16) have played more. Lethbridge has also played 15 games. After that, everyone has played less.
The Hitmen, who hold the first wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference have played just 10 games.
One of the other talking points for Brandon is between the crease. Vegas Golden Knights prospect Jiri Patera played last on October 6th in a 5-4 shootout win against the Saskatoon Blades. For conversation’s sake, that’s the night Brandon scored two goals in the last 1:05 to tie it before they eventually won it.
Patera has been sidelined since that game and there have been no concrete words as to when he will return. Since that, it’s been the Ethan Kruger show. He has now played eight straight games for Brandon which included the club’s 5-1 win back on Saturday.
Overall this year, Kruger has a 2.94 G.A.A and a .911 save percentage. Yes, Brandon is 6-9, but in Patera’s absence, the 18-year-old from Sherwood Park is certainly holding the Wheat Kings in games and giving them a chance to win. Kruger’s hometown junior A team is one of the best in the country. The Crusaders are 17-1 and they have 92 goals in their 18 games, which are eight more than any other team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
For Brandon, the long road trip is now followed by some home cooking. Not for a long time, but a few games. Brandon welcomes Swift Current to the Wheat City on Friday for a rematch with the Broncos. That’s followed by a game on Saturday against the very strong Lethbridge Hurricanes and they remain on home ice for a game on Tuesday, November 5th against the Red Deer Rebels.
When Brandon does hit the road again, it surely won’t be easy. They’re in Prince Albert on November 8th and they complete a Saskatchewan trip on November 9th against the Saskatoon Blades. But, that’s two weeks away and really isn’t something the Wheat Kings are worried about what-so-ever.
The only thing on their minds right now is likely staying off the bus and getting some rest in their own beds, something they haven’t done for more than two weeks.
With their next game not being until Friday, the club also gets a few days to prepare.
It’s highly expected that Luka Burzan will win the Wheat Kings scoring crown after finishing in second last year to Stelio Mattheos who nearly put up 100 points. However, a somewhat of a slow start from Burzan certainly has a few other players in contention.
With his 13 points (7G), Burzan leads Ben McCartney and Lynden McCallum by three points. My feel-good story of the season when it comes to the Wheat Kings is definitely McCallum.
Playing in his hometown, the now 19-year-old had seven points last year in an injury-shortened season. This year, McCallum already has 10 points. Cole Reinhardt and Braden Schneider both have nine points while Chad Nychuk has eight. It’s safe to say, it’s been scoring by committee so far for Brandon and that’s not necessarily a bad thing as long as it gets the job done.
Stay tuned later this week when we begin “Get to know a Wheat King”.
