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Wheat Kings-Rebels Set for Game 5

April 29, 2016 - Western Hockey League (WHL) - Brandon Wheat Kings News Release


Brandon, MB. - The Brandon Wheat Kings will be looking to earn a berth into the Western Hockey League Championship Final tonight when they play host to the visiting Red Deer Rebels in game 5 of their Eastern Conference Final.

Fresh off Wednesday's impressive 4-2 victory in Red Deer, the Wheat Kings lead the best of seven series three games to one and with a win tonight, they will punch their ticket to their second straight Championship Final. A Red Deer win, however, will force a sixth game Sunday night back in Alberta.

The Seattle Thunderbirds advanced this week by completing a 4-game sweep of the defending champion Kelowna Rockets.

Brandon forward Tanner Kaspick, this year's Eastern Conference Scholastic Player of the Year, says it feels good to have a chance to clinch the series on home ice but he knows how difficult it can be to close out a series.

"Any time you can close a series out it's important to try and get it done the first time," Kaspick told Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun. "They'll be playing for their lives over there and it's always the hardest game. We're excited and we're looking forward to playing in front of our home crowd again. The crowds have been great all playoffs and I expect nothing will change tonight."

Head coach and general manager Brent Sutter of the Rebels, who will be hosting next month's MasterCard Memorial Cup, says it won't be easy but at least his club knows what must be done in order to rally and win this series.

"I think it's pretty defined now," Sutter told reporters in Red Deer. "We have to win or we'll sit around for awhile and be practicing twice a day until the Memorial Cup. Our backs are against the wall. To some degree we put ourselves in this spot by having leads in both games in Brandon and not bearing down in the last seven to eight minutes and blowing the leads."

While he knows how difficult it can be to close out a series, Brandon coach and general manager Kelly McCrimmon says having a chance to do it in front of what will be a sold out Westman Place is pretty special.

"The atmosphere in games 1 and 2 was tremendous," McCrimmon told the Sun. "When you get your opponent at the brink, you want to try to eliminate them the first chance that you have and you have to recognize fully that it's the hardest game to win."

As of Friday morning, only a limited number of single seats and Standing Room were available at the Keystone Centre box office.

This marks the fifth playoff series between these two teams, with Red Deer winning the past three - 1999, 2002 and 2003. The last two wins came in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Brandon meanwhile won the Eastern Conference Title last spring, defeating Calgary in five games.

The Wheat Kings, who managed to clinch their first two playoff series on home ice this spring, are hoping to advance to the WHL Championship Final for the eighth time in franchise history. Besides last year, Brandon has played for the Ed Chynoweth Trophy in 2005, 1998, 1996, 1995, 1979 and 1977.

Entering tonight's game, veterans John Quenneville, Tim McGauley and Reid Duke sit second, third and fourth in WHL playoff scoring with 22, 21 and 20 points respectively.


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