The Western Hockey League has unveiled its preseason schedule for 2021 and the Brandon Wheat Kings won’t be overly busy.
They will play just three exhibition games ahead of the 2021-22 season. Fresh off winning the Subway Cup in the Regina bubble, the Wheat Kings could return several players from last season’s division champion squad. The list includes three of the team’s top young guns in Tyson Zimmer, Rylen Roersma, and Nate Danielson, all of which played in the bubble with the team.
Game 1 – @ Moose Jaw Warriors – Tuesday, September 14:
The two teams were on opposite sides of the standings in the bubble. Brandon won 18 games while Moose Jaw’s eight wins were the second-fewest in the East Division.
In four bubble meetings with Moose Jaw, Brandon went 3-0-1, with the overtime defeat coming in their first game of the season back on March 12.
The other three contests were dominated by the Wheat Kings. They scored eight goals each on two different occasions and in the four games, they tallied 24 goals for, just nine against.
Jake Chiasson — who is eligible to return — torched the Warriors as he scored four goals and had one assist over the four contests.
After this meeting, the teams won’t play again until the regular season begins.
Game 2 – vs Winnipeg ICE – Thursday, September 23:
Game 3 – @ Winnipeg ICE – Saturday, September 25:
The ‘Battle of Manitoba’ is back for two installments as both teams finalize their rosters for the regular season. The provincial rivals have only known each other for a couple of seasons, but don’t tell them that.
The Regina bubble was dominated by Brandon, but you certainly can’t take anything away from how Winnipeg played. They also had 18 wins like the Wheat Kings; however, they ended up with 37 points compared to Brandon’s 38 because they had one less overtime defeat.
Winnipeg only had one overtime defeat in their final seven games, the rest were wins. Peyton Krebs — who will play professionally next season — led the league with 43 points as he went head to head with Ben McCartney of the Wheat Kings, who finished with 37 points.
Brandon won all four meetings in the Regina bubble, but the season series was extremely close, despite Winnipeg not winning a game. Brandon won by one in regulation twice and another win was in overtime. Their only victory by more than one was when McCartney lit the lamp three times in a 5-3 win on April 14.
With everything trending towards having fans back in the stands, the rivalry between these two Manitoba rivals is expected to pick back up.
Down to business:
Just six days after their final preseason game, Brandon will get things going for real on home ice.
The Wheat Kings welcome the ICE to Westoba Place for their home opener on Friday, October 1. In a release on wheatkings.com, Doug Gasper had this to say.
“It’s been a long time coming for everyone involved,” said Wheat Kings General Manager Doug Gasper. “We are beyond excited to get back into this building, in front of the best fans in the WHL. Coming off the experience from the Subway Cup in Regina, we expect to play an exciting, entertaining brand of hockey.”
