DUBNetwork Game of the Night: Brandon Wheat Kings (31-21-4-2) @ Swift Current Broncos (10-42-1-3) 7:00 PM
With a win tonight the Brandon Wheat Kings can clinch a playoff spot. They are 3-0-0-0 against Swift Current this season outscoring them 17-3 in the process.
Brandon will also leap over the Winnipeg ICE with a win, putting them to 70 points and second in the East Division. Swift Current is mired in an 11-game losing skid, they are also the only team in the WHL with 40 regulation losses.
The Wheat Kings firepower has really shown itself in the back half of the season. Included in that is Ben McCartney, who has taken over the team scoring lead from Luka Burzan. The gap is just one point as McCartney has 23 goals and 35 assists to Burzan’s 33 goals and 24 assists.
Despite not being with the team all season, D-Jay Jerome leads the Broncos with 18 goals and 26 assists. He has nearly a point per game since joining the team, with four goals and 12 assists in 19 games. Jaxan Kaluski has performed fairly well despite missing a lot of time, he has 19 goals and 10 assists in 42 games. Just one other player on the Broncos has hit 20 points and that is Tyler Smithies, he has five goals and 15 assists.
The Broncos defense struggles to collect points. Kaleb Bulych is tied for the team lead in defensemen points, he has three goals and nine assists. Hendrik De Klerk also has 12 points, on two goals and 10 assists.
Brandon’s top two defensemen have combined for 79 points. Draft eligible Braden Schneider has seven goals and 34 assists on the season, while Chad Nychuk has six goals and 32 assists.
Today’s a good day to give Jiri Patera a rest so expect to see Ethan Kruger between the pipes for the Wheat Kings. He is 10-10-2-0 this season, with a 2.80 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.
It is likely the Broncos go with Isaac Poulter between the pipes today, he is 9-28-1-2 with a 3.92 goals-against average and .900 save percentage.
Neither team does exceptionally well on the power play, Brandon is 14th at 20.3% success. Swift Current is last in the WHL at 11.6%. One thing the Wheat Kings do well is killing penalties, they are 2nd in the WHL at 85.2%, Swift Current is 21st at 73.1%
You can catch all the action on WHL Live tonight or you can tune into Branden Crowe on Q Country 91.5 FM in Brandon or you can tune into Craig Beauchemin on the Broncos Radio App.
In other WHL action (all times local):
Kelowna Rockets (26-26-2-3) @ Prince George Cougars (17-31-4-4) 7:00 PM
The second game of a back-to-back, the Rockets required overtime to take out the Cougars 5-4 last night. That win gives the Rockets points in four straight games. Prince George has points in their last two. The Cougars are 12 points out of a playoff spot with 12 games left to play. The Rockets are four points up on Seattle for the first wild card spot and eight points back of Vancouver for third in the BC Division.
Everett Silvertips (40-12-3-1) @ Tri-City Americans (17-34-4-1) 7:05 PM
Everett can close the gap between themselves and the Portland Winterhawks to just one point with a win over Tri-City. That race is for the US Division title. The Silvertips are 4-1-0-0 over the Americans this season and will play them three more times following tonight’s contest. Tri-City is 14 points back of the Seattle Thunderbirds for the final playoff spot with 12 games remaining.
