WHL Brandon Wheat Kings

Eastern Conference Final Set To Go

Published on April 17, 2009 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release


Calgary, Alberta -- The Brandon Wheat Kings and Calgary Hitmen will be putting perfect 8-0 playoff records on the line Friday night as the Pengrowth Saddledome will play host to game one of the Western Hockey League Eastern Conference Championship Final.

Both teams have swept their first two rounds of post-season play. While Brandon was downing Kootenay and Medicine Hat, the Hitmen were sweeping Edmonton and Lethbridge.

"Both teams have gone 8-0 so somebody's going to lose their first playoff game on Friday," Wheat Kings' coach and general manager Kelly McCrimmon told Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun this week. "That's going to be different for whichever team that is. It's pretty rare that two teams get to the conference final having both swept their series."

Winners of three of four regular season games between the two teams, the Hitmen finished the year with an impressive 59-9-3-1 record, good for 122 points and first place overall. Only the '78-79 Wheat Kings (125 points) had a better regular season record in WHL history.

The Wheat Kings, who will play game two of this best of seven series Sunday afternoon in Calgary before returning to Brandon for games three and four on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, surpassed the 100-point plateau for the first time in thirteen years by compiling an equally impressive record of 48-19-3-2.

The Hitmen, who feature four NHL drafted defenceman on their blueline (Michael Stone, Alex Plante, Paul Postma and Keith Seabrook), are led by two of the league's top three scorers. While Brandon Kozun finished second in the WHL with 40 goals and 108 points, Brett Sonne was third with 48 goals and 100 points.

Sonne was named the WHL's Eastern Conference Player of the Year on Thursday afternoon.

The Wheat Kings, who won 25 games on the road during the regular season, enter Friday's series opener with a 12-0-0-1 record during their last thirteen road games. Among those twelve victories was a come from behind 7-6 overtime win over the Hitmen in Calgary on January 31st. Ironically, that win started Brandon's current streak.

20-year old Carson McMillan, one of two Brandon products playing for the Hitmen, led Calgary in scoring against the Wheat Kings during the regular season. The former AAA Midget Wheat King had six assists in four games, followed by Kozun and Kyle Bortis with five points each.

The Wheat Kings meanwhile had five players average a point per game against Calgary during the regular season. Matt Lowry, Andrew Clark, Scott Glennie, Colby Robak and Brayden Schenn had four points each during the 4-game season series.

For the 17-year old Schenn, who is expected to be a first round pick in June's National Hockey League Entry Draft, the Eastern Conference Final should be a great series.

"If you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best," Schenn told the Brandon Sun this week. "It's not going to be easy, it's going to take a lot of hard work and it's definitely going to have to be a team game for this series."

Schenn is currently tied with linemate Scott Glennie for the Wheat Kings' playoff scoring lead with 15 points each. Schenn enters game one Friday night, having scored at least a point in all eight of Brandon's playoff games.

Winners of two of three playoff series between these two teams, the Wheat Kings will be facing off against Calgary for the third time in the past five years. While the Hitmen knocked off the Wheat Kings in six games in a 2007 second round series, it was Brandon scoring a dramatic 7-game series win over Calgary in one of the WHL's most memorable playoff series in recent memory - in 2005.

Tickets to games three and four in Brandon next week are on sale now at the Keystone Centre box office, by calling 726-3555 or online at ticketmaster.ca

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, the Keystone box office was reporting that just 3,000 tickets had been sold for Tuesday night's game.

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Western Hockey League Stories from April 17, 2009


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