WHL Brandon Wheat Kings

Brandon Wheat Kings Game Notes

Published on January 13, 2007 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release


1/13/2007: Seattle Thunderbirds @ Brandon 19:30, Keystone Centre

GAME NOTES: The WHEAT KINGS return home Saturday night, hoping to find the win column against the visiting SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS...This is SEATTLE'S first appearance at the Keystone Centre in two years...BRANDON is coming off a 2-game road trip that saw the WHEAT KINGS collect one of a possible four points - losing a Shootout in REGINA on Tuesday night before dropping a 6-4 decision to the third place RAIDERS in PRINCE ALBERT on Friday...BRANDON enters the game sitting atop the Western Hockey League's Eastern Division with a record of 21-15-2-6, good for 50 points and a six point lead on the secon d place SWIFT CURRENT BRONCOS, who dropped a 7-3 decision in LETHBRIDGE Friday night...The win by the HURRICANES pushed LETHBRIDGE to within one point of fifth place BRANDON in the Eastern Conference...The WHEAT KINGS are 13-3-1-3 at home and 8-12-1-3 on the road...In their last ten games, they're 4-3-0-3 and since Christmas they've posted a 3-2-0-2 record...Since the start of the new calendar year, BRANDON is 1-2-0-1 and with Friday's loss, the WHEAT KINGS record against Eastern Division rivals slipped to 10-7-2-4...Last Tuesday's loss in REGINA was BRANDON'S sixth Shootout defeat of the season (WHEATS are 2-6 in Shootouts and 2-2-6 in ten overtime games)...In games against U.S. Division teams this year, BRANDON is 1-1-0 and against Western Conference clubs, the WHEATS are .500 (3-3-0-1)...BRANDON travels to MOOSE JAW on Wednesday before returning home to meet SPOKANE and SWIFT CURRENT on Friday and Saturday nights&# 8230;Eight of 13 games this month will be played on the road.

LAST GAME: The PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS scored two goals in each period Friday en route to a 6-4 victory over the WHEAT KINGS at the Art Hauser Centre...ANDY SMITH scored twice and set up another for the winners while MARK DERLAGO scored three times in a losing cause in his debut as the 49th captain in franchise history...Friday's hat trick gives DERLAGO a team leading 29 goals on the season, one more than his previous career high...ANDREW CLARK also scored for the WHEAT KINGS, who received 3 assist efforts from both DANIEL BARTEK and defenceman DUSTIN KOHN...BRANDON'S powerplay clicked on three of 5 chances Friday while killing off 4 of 6...Rookie netminder JOE CALIGIURI surrendered 6 goals on 32 shots.

WHEATIES ADD SCORING PUNCH AT DEADLINE: The WHEAT KINGS added some scoring at Wednesday's WHL Trade Deadline, acquiring 20-year old left-winger ROBERT KLINKHAMMER from the PORTLAND WINTER HAWKS in exchange for captain TEEGAN MOORE and a second round pick in the 2007 bantam draft...KLINKHAMMER is currently tied for 7th in the WHL in goals with 23 and is among the league scoring leaders with 42 points in 38 games...MOORE was 4-10-14...In 203 career games in the WHL, the 6'3" 212 lb Lethbridge product is 47-46-93-224 penalty minutes...KLINKHAMMER made his WHEAT KING debut Friday night.

MILESTONES: KLINKHAMMER makes his BRANDON debut tonight...Friday's hat trick was MARK DERLAGO'S second of the season (his other was in a 9-5 WHEAT KING victory over LETHBRIDGE on Oct. 20th)...DANIEL BARTEK enjoyed his first 3-point game Friday...Netminder TYLER PLANTE, the WHEAT KINGS' TIP TOP TAILOR PLAYER OF THE MONTH for December (2.73 goals against average and a .914 save pct in 10 appearances), is one of only four BRANDON goalkeepers to eclipse the 8,000 minute mark...PLANTE is currently 122 minutes shy of ROBERT McVICAR on the WHEATS' all time list. As for games played, he's played 144 games (3 back of McVICAR and third place all time)...CODEY BURKI'S assist against the BLADES last Friday was the 150 th point of his WHL career...DUSTIN KOHN is two assists shy of 100...17-year old rookie NATHAN GREEN scored his first ever WHL goal on Friday vs. SASKATOON; his first ever goal on the road came in Tuesday's loss to the PATS in REGINA.

VS. SEATTLE: Tonight's game is the one and only meeting of the season between these two teams...BRANDON was a 5-1 loser in SEATTLE in the only game played between the two in 2005-06...WHEATS are 2-3-0 against the T-BIRDS over the course of the past five years...Both victories came at the Keystone Centre.

BY THE NUMBERS: Rookie DANIEL BARTEK is the hottest WHEAT KING since Christmas (4-5-9 in 7 games)...CODEY BURKI, who is still looking for his first goal since returning from the National Junior Selection Camp last month in CALGARY, has fallen two points off the pace in the WHL scoring race...MARK DERLAGO is 11th in the WHL scoring race (29-20-49), but has moved into a tie for the league lead with KRIS HOGG of the HURRICANES with 29 goals...DERLAGO also leads the WHL with 17 powerplay tallies...Slovakian born right-winger JURAJ SIMEK is second in goals among first year players (22)...DANIEL BARTEK'S 3 shorthanded goals is second in the league among WHL rookies...DUSTIN KOHN is second among blueliners with 32 assists. His 34 points is goo d for 6th in the WHL...TYLER PLANTE is third in the WHL in saves (954)...BRANDON'S powerplay is currently 3rd in the WHL (21.14%) while its penalty killing is 15th (80.6%)...WHEATS are 14-3-2-2 when they score first.

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Western Hockey League Stories from January 13, 2007


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