With the first and second “Manitoba Battle” between the Brandon Wheat Kings and Winnipeg ICE now in the past, the Wheat Kings are now focusing on their next task. Because it was a big moment in junior hockey history in Manitoba, we have to take a quick look back at the two games.
For the first time since 1984, the Wheat Kings played another WHL team from Manitoba in a regular-season game. At the end of the weekend, Brandon finished with a win and a loss. On Friday, they went down 3-0 before eventually falling 3-2. On Saturday, the team rebounded with a 4-2 win.
“I was happy with how we played the second night. I don’t think we had the energy or excitement the first night,” said Dave Lowry, head coach. “We were somewhat disappointed, but I’m really happy with how we responded and played on Saturday night.”
“I think we took some big strides throughout the weekend in how we want to play, and the results showed on Saturday,” continued Lowry.
Now, the Wheat Kings will challenge the Moose Jaw Warriors for the first time in the regular season. In the preseason, Brandon split their two games with Moose Jaw.
Moose Jaw also opened up their campaign with a weekend split. They lost to Regina 3-2 on Friday but beat Regina 5-3 on Saturday. Brandon scored six goals on opening weekend, while Moose Jaw’s seven are among the league’s best after two games.
“The big thing for us is we just want to continue to round our game into a level that we want,” said Lowry. “We have an idea of their style and how they’ll play from the preseason, but they didn’t have a full lineup. They’re a team that works start to finish, and they do have some skill.”
Suspensions:
Ridly Greig has been suspended for three games. Ben McCartney will be sidelined for Friday night’s game. Despite not having two of their top scorers, it’s business as usual for Lowry and the rest of the crew.
“It provides an opportunity for other guys. We treat it no differently than if they were injured,” said Lowry. “For a guy who hasn’t played a lot or something like that, there is an opportunity for some of them. We’re looking for guys to take advantage of their chances.”
Goaltending situation:
It’s cleared up for now. Jiri Patera is the team’s #1 goalie and that comes as no surprise. When it came to who would play back up, that took some time. Ethan Kruger and Connor Ungar were both battling for the spot.
Just recently, Ungar was reassigned to the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Okotoks Oilers. Connor has yet to play a game for the Oilers this season, but he’s expected to be a big piece on a team that is out to a 3-1 start.
Now back to Brandon and their duo. It’s been the Patera show so far. He made 75 saves over the two games.
“I like the fact that Jiri gives us a chance to win every night,” said Lowry. “He wants to be in the net every game. He’s a competitive guy, and he’s a great teammate.”
Kruger, who has yet to play in the regular season, has shown signs of dominance in the past, and he’s just waiting for his opportunity as Patera’s back up.
“Overall, we have three goalies that we feel are all deserving of playing in the league,” said Lowry. “We just feel that there isn’t enough playing time to keep three goalies. We’re looking at our organization in a couple of years.”
“Connor is capable of playing in this league right now, but to develop our goalies, they need to play right now and they need to be in those pressure situations,” continued Lowry. “We feel the best thing for Connor is to play a lot with Okotoks.”
Key players:
Without much of a surprise, Luka Burzan leads Brandon up front. After a 78-point campaign last year, Luka has picked up right where he left off. With two goals and two assists through two games, the star centre is in a tie for third in league scoring. Everett’s Bryce Kindopp has six points to lead the way. With just eight shots to his name so far, Burzan has connected on 25% of them, which is quite remarkable.
For a little comparison, Kindopp who leads the league, has converted on 21.4% of his shots. It’s not only on the ice where Burzan shines, however, as Lowry mentions.
“Off the ice, he brings that experience, and he helps a lot of the young guys,” said Burzan. “He’s been at an NHL camp and he knows what it takes and how much those guys spend on paying attention to detail. We expect him to be a prominent scorer for us. He also has to learn to be a complete player if he wants to move forward, and that’s our job to help him achieve that.”
Two other Brandon players have two points. One of those is Ben McCartney who will not play on Friday. The other is Lynden McCallum. He only played 46 games last year after a late-season injury, and he put up seven points. With two points already through two games, the Wheat Kings are certainly a happy bunch that McCallum came back to camp in great shape, and there is no doubt he’s well on his way to a career year, by far.
“We’re excited about the upside here. He’s come back and he’s put in a lot of work and he’s excited and ready to play,” said Lowry.
Wrap up:
Friday’s game is set for 7:30 at Westoba Place as Brandon welcomes Moose Jaw. On Saturday, the weekend set continues at Mosaic Place.
