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WHL Brandon Wheat Kings

Wheat Kings Back in Action Friday

December 18, 2015 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release


Swift Current, SK. - The Brandon Wheat Kings will close out their pre-Christmas schedule this weekend with back to back games on the road.

The Wheat Kings, who currently lead the WHL's Eastern Division with a record of 20-10-1-2, will take on the Broncos in Swift Current on Friday night, before travelling to Prince Albert to battle the second place Raiders.

Despite having the best road record of any team in the Conference, Brandon's interim head coach knows how difficult this weekend will be for a club that is missing three of its top players.

"They are very hard building to play in," David Anning told Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun this week. "I think they are very hard working in their buildings and wait for you to make mistakes."

"We've played Swift Current enough this year to know what to expect...and playing back to back nights against a high-end team, it will be a good challenge on Saturday," he went on to say.

Swift Current is currently sitting in eleventh place in the Conference but trail Saskatoon and Medicine Hat by just a single point. The Broncos are also five points shy of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Conference, currently occupied by the Edmonton Oil Kings.

The Raiders meanwhile are 18-11-2-1 and have a game in hand on the Wheat Kings, making Saturday's game in Prince Albert a big one. To make matters more difficult, Brandon is 4-8-0-0 at the Art Hauswer Centre over the course of the last five years.

During the season series between the two teams, Brandon has won three of four against the Broncos and in its only game against Prince Albert, the Raiders scored a dramatic 3-2 victory on November 15th at Westman Place.

Brandon goes into the weekend without Jayce Hawryluk, John Quenneville and Ivan Provorov in the lineup. While Provorov is expected to be named to the Russian National Junior Team, the two Brandon forwards are bidding to earn one of the final roster spots on Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Finland.

In the absence of the trio, others have stepped up including second year center Nolan Patrick. The 17-year old Winnipeg product is currently on a league leading 10-game point scoring streak and has ten goals and 40 points in 33 games this season. Former Bronco blueliner Jordan Thomson has points in four of his last 6 games.

Prince Albert is without high scoring Simon Stransky this weekend as he is currently skating with the Czech Republic team at the IIHF Championship. Stransky is currently second in team scoring with eleven goals and 31 points in thirty games.

Entering weekend play, the Wheat Kings are 6-3-1-0 over the course of their last ten games.

Following Saturday night's game in Prince Albert, members of the WHL club will depart for their weeklong Christmas break. Brandon returns to the ice on Sunday, December 27th against the visiting Regina Pats at Westman Place.

Tickets to that game as well as all eighteen remaining regular season games are on sale now at the Keystone Centre box office. Fans can also purchase online at keystonecentre.com or by calling 726-3555.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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