DUBNetwork Feature game of the night: Medicine Hat Tigers (25-11-1-1) @ Brandon Wheat Kings (19-17-1-2) 7 PM CST
Tonight’s feature game has two teams that are coming on strong as the teams near the trade deadline. Brandon has played itself into third in the East Division while Medicine Hat continues to duke it out with the Lethbridge Hurricanes for playoff seeding.
The Tigers are the highest-scoring teams in the WHL this season with 162 lamplighters in 38 games. The Tigers have three scorers in the top-20 of all point-getters this season. It starts at the top with James Hamblin who has 23 goals and 36 assists in 38 contests. He’s tied with Adam Beckman for first in WHL scoring. Not far behind is 20-year-old Brett Kemp, he’s registered 18 goals and 30 assists. Rounding out the top three for Medicine Hat is Ryan Chyzowski with 19 goals and 22 assists.
Brandon does also have a few elite scorers in Luka Burzan and Ben McCartney, with Cole Reinhardt slipping just outside the top-40 scorers in the WHL.
Burzan has come on strong in recent play, with five goals in his last four games to bring his season totals to 20 goals and 21 assists. Ben McCartney has also played well of late, adding six points in his last four games. He is now at 15 goals and 24 assists on the season. With nine goals in his last eight games, Cole Reinhardt now leads the team with 22 goals.
These recent points have come during Brandon’s four-game win streak as well as their 6-2-0-2 record over their last 10 games. Medicine Hat has turned in a 5-4-0-1 record in their last 10 games.
Both teams boast players in the top-20 in scoring among defensemen. Medicine Hat recently added Dylan Plouffe from the Vancouver Giants. Since joining the Tigers, he has two goals and three assists in 10 games. Daniel Baker has eight goals and 17 assists. For the Wheat Kings its 18-year-old Braden Schneider leading the way with five goals and 22 assists while patrolling the blue line. Not far behind him is Chad Nychuk with four goals and 19 assists to round out the top-20.
It is expected that both teams will start their number one netminder. For the Tigers that’s Mads Sogaard. He has a 13-7-1-1 record to go along with a 2.69 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage. Brandon will counter with Jiri Patera, he’s 11-7-0-2 this season with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.
In other WHL Action:
Red Deer Rebels (13-20-1-3) @ Prince Albert Raiders (21-14-4-1)
After some pretty good play in the last few weeks, the Rebels had a weekend let down with an overtime loss and 3-0 loss. They need to get back on track in a hurry, they are nine points out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. After a great start to the season, the Raiders have stumbled greatly with just two wins in their last 11 games. They are now two points back of the Winnipeg ICE for the division title.
Spokane Chiefs (20-12-4-1) @ Portland Winterhawks (27-6-1-3)
The Winterhawks are riding a 12-game point streak into the contest. The team has lost just one point in that time with a record of 11-0-0-1, the team is now three points clear of the Everett Silvertips for the division lead. Spokane has fallen back of late with a lot of injuries to their goaltending corps. They are also without the services of Matt Leduc and Jake McGrew. They are 12 points up on the Seattle Thunderbirds for third in the US division.
