Game 3 of WHL Final Goes Tonight
May 10, 2016 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release
Kent, Wash. - the Brandon Wheat Kings will be looking to take a commanding lead in the Western Hockey League Championship Series Tuesday night when they take on the T-Birds in Seattle.
The Wheat Kings, who are making their eighth appearance in the WHL Championship Series, lead the best of seven series two games to nothing after back to back overtime wins at Westman Place this past weekend.
A Brandon win tonight and the Wheat Kings will be sitting in good shape. However, a loss and the T-Birds are right back in the series, with the chance to even things up in game four on Wednesday.
The T-Birds, who will host games three, four and 5 (if necessary) Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday nights, are one of the league's best on home ice and Brandon blueliner Mitch Wheaton - who has played in Seattle a lot as a member of the Kelowna Rockets - knows the crowd will be fired up.
"It's a loud building, especially on a Tuesday when they have $2 night going on," he told Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun on Monday. "It's a nuts building. They're loud and they're never not loud. They come in waves in that building...they're a different team. They're really strong on home ice."
In the only game played between the two teams during the 2015-16 regular season, Seattle blasted Brandon 7-2 on home ice and the T-Birds seemed to feed off the noise of the crowd.
Brandon coach and general manager Kelly McCrimmon is confident his team understands the importance of getting off to a good start and sticking to its game plan.
"The bottom line is that you have to match the urgency and the desperation of your opponent," he told the Sun. "They're back in their building and they've had had very good success on home ice."
While Seattle has lost the first two games of the series, the T-Birds are far from finished says head coach Steve Konowalchuk, who notes that his club hasn't lost three straight games since early February.
"We've got to play with one more notch," he recently told reporters in Washington. "We've got to go out and have a lot of fun and maybe pick it up another 10 percent."
Seattle has a combined 35-6-3-0 in 44 games at the ShoWare Centre this season.
One way to silence the Seattle crowd will be finding success with the man advantage. The Wheat Kings are just 1-10 on the powerplay through the first two games and have surrendered a shorthanded goal.
In off ice news - Tanner Kaspick and Jordan Papirny have been chosen the WHL Player and Goaltender of the Week while Kaspick and Kale Clague are among over 100 players invited to the National Hockey League's Central Scouting Combine in Buffalo next month. Kaspick has five goals and 10 points in eighteen playoff games this year while Clague is among the league leaders among defencemen with six goals and 14 points.
Brandon is making its second straight appearance in the Final while Seattle is in it for the first time since 1997.
Should the series return to Brandon, games six and 7 (if necessary) will be played Sunday and Monday nights.
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Western Hockey League Stories from May 10, 2016
- Rockets Alumni Golf Tournament July 15 - Kelowna Rockets
- Silvertips Acquire Goaltender Austin McGrath from the Edmonton Oil Kings - Everett Silvertips
- Wheat Kings' Jordan Papirny Named Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week - WHL
- White Spot Fundraiser Supports Fort McMurray Wildfire Victims - Vancouver Giants
- Game 3 of WHL Final Goes Tonight - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Oil Kings Acquire Draft Pick in Exchange for McGrath - Edmonton Oil Kings
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