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WHL Brandon Wheat Kings

Wheat Kings - Hitmen History

April 16, 2009 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release


Calgary, Alberta -- When the Brandon Wheat Kings hit the ice at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary Friday night, they will be facing a Hitmen team for the fourth time in Western Hockey League playoff history.

Since joining the WHL in 1995, the Hitmen and Wheat Kings have met three times in post-season play, with Brandon coming out on top in two of those series.

Their first playoff series between the two came in the '98 Eastern Conference Finals when Brandon defeated the Hitmen four games to one to earn a berth into the League Championship Final against Portland. The Wheat Kings were led that year by Cory Cyrenne, Stefan Cherneski, Greg Phillips and Burke Henry while Calgary's leading scorer that year was Brad Moran.

In 2005, the Wheat Kings and Hitmen faced off in what might be the most memorable series in recent playoff history. After losing three of the first four games, Brandon battled back to beat Calgary in the seventh and deciding game of their Eastern Conference Semi-Final series. The series featured all stars Eric Fehr, Ryan Stone and Steven Later of the Wheat Kings as well as Andrew Ladd, Ryan Getzlaf and Brodie Dupont of the Hitmen. As was the case seven years earlier, the Wheat Kings advanced all of the way to the WHL Championship series that year before losing out to the Kelowna Rockets.

The club's most recent series came two years ago when Calgary upended Brandon in six games in their Eastern Conference Semi-Final. The 2007 Hitmen featured Ryan White, Karl Alzner, Alex Plante and Brett Sonne while the Wheat Kings were led by the likes of Mark Derlago, Codey Burki, Tyler Plante and Daryl Boyle.

Long before the berth of the Hitmen, Brandon faced Doug Sauter's Calgary Wranglers in the opening round of the 1980 playoffs. After finishing the regular season with a record of 33-37-2, Dunc McCallum's Wheat Kings stunned the 43-27-2 Wranglers in the seventh and deciding game played at the Stampede Corral. Among the players on that Brandon team were Steve Patrick, Ken Schneider, Don Dietrich and current Wheat Kings' general manager Kelly McCrimmon. The Wranglers meanwhile featured the likes of Glenn Merkosky, Warren Skorodenski, Dan Bourbonnais and current Calgary GM Kelly Kisio.

Game two of the Husky Mohawk Eastern Conference Final will be played Sunday afternoon, before the series shifts to Brandon's Westman Place for games three and four on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Tickets for both Brandon home games are on sale now at the Keystone Centre box office, by calling 726-3555 or online at ticketmaster.ca.

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