Wheat Kings Improve to Second Place in East Division

March 2, 2020 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release

The Wheat Kings beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-3 on Saturday to complete a sweep of their three game Central Division road trip including a 3-2 win over the Calgary Hitmen on Friday and a 9-1 win on Wednesday against the Swift Current Broncos.

Their recent success gives the Wheat Kings 74 points and moves them into second place in the WHL's East Division for the first time this season, above the Winnipeg ICE who remained at 69 points after going 0-3 last week and only 1 point behind the Prince Albert Raiders who have 75.

The Wheat Kings now face the Raiders in a home and home series this coming weekend, playing in Prince Albert on Friday and Brandon on Saturday March 7th at 7:30pm.

The Wheat Kings' 3-game win streak improves them to 19-6-1-2 since the Christmas break, getting contributions from up and down the bench as well as some incredible performances by netminder, Jiri Patera.

Patera has gone 23-11 in 34 games played and is now holding a 2.53 GAA and .923 save percentage backing the Wheat Kings this season. He has allowed 13 goals in his last 7 games and when Patera was rested on Saturday against the Hurricanes, Ethan Kruger earned his 11th win of the season turning aside 26 of 28 shots. Kruger now sports a 0.913 save percentage and has recorded 3 shutouts on the season, Patera 5.

Braden Schneider continues to be a force on the blue line for the Wheat Kings as the cornerstone of a solid defence while collecting the 5th most points on the team with 42. Schneider's advantage of size and strength has continued to impress this season and he is part of the reason the Wheat Kings are ranked second in the WHL on the penalty kill, stopping teams 85.8% of the time from scoring. The imposing D man has been one of the biggest threats on both ends of the ice this season, maturing nicely in his 18 year old season as he prepares for the 2020 NHL Draft this summer.

Cole Reinhardt has 6 points in his last 4 games including back-to-back game winning goals in Calgary and Lethbridge, giving him 31 goals on the season for 54 points. This looks to be the standard of improvement for Reinhardt in the WHL as he scored 45 points last season and 34 in 2017-18. The assistant captain has only been held off the score sheet 4 times in 2020 and has been a vital part of the team's consistency with a plus/minus of 19, the highest on the team.

Luka Burzan and Ben McCartney have both been neck-and-neck lately as the Wheat King's points leaders, Burzan with 35 goals and 60 points and McCartney 24 goals for 60 points to go along with a league leading 101 penalty minutes. Burzan's 35 goals ties him for 6th in WHL scoring this season and McCartney already has 19 more points than he scored in 2018-2019, with 7 regular season games left to play.

Right behind Burzan and McCartney in points is 17-year old centre Ridly Greig with 57, including 8 during his current 6-game point streak. The native of Lethbridge, AB scored the opening goal and assisted on Reinhardt's game winner against the Hurricanes on Saturday, one night after scoring the opening goal short-handed against the Hitmen. Greig has 27 points in 2020 so far and has been a major factor for the Wheat Kings as he adds to his resume leading up to the 2020 NHL Draft.

Wheat Kings fans can buy tickets to this Saturday's game against the Prince Albert Raiders at Westoba Place by visiting the Keystone Centre box office, calling the box office at 204-726-3555 or buying online at www.keystoncecentre.com/tickets.

Friday night's game will be called by Branden Crowe on Q-country 91.5 FM or it can be viewed online by visiting whl.neulion.com.

Western Hockey League Stories from March 2, 2020

• Rockets name Kris Mallette head coach - Kelowna Rockets
• Bowen Byram Named WHL McSweeney's Player of the Month - Vancouver Giants
• Silvertips' Wolf Named WHL Vaughn Goaltender of the Month - WHL
• Giants' Byram Named WHL McSweeney's Player of the Month - WHL
• Dylan Guenther Named WHL's Rookie of the Month for February - Edmonton Oil Kings
• The Final Four - Saskatoon Blades
• Oil Kings' Guenther Named WHL Rookie of the Month - WHL
• Dylan Guenther Named WHL Rookie of the Month for February - Edmonton Oil Kings
• Tigers' Sogaard Named WHL Eli Wilson Goaltending Goaltender of the Week - Medicine Hat Tigers
• Wheat Kings Improve to Second Place in East Division - Brandon Wheat Kings
• Smith Named WHL on the Run Player of the Week - Spokane Chiefs
• Tigers' Sogaard Named WHL Eli Wilson Goaltending Goaltender of the Week - WHL
• Chiefs' Smith Named WHL On the Run Player of the Week - WHL
• Winnipeg ICE to Host Mental Health Awareness Game in Partnership with CMHA Winnipeg - Winnipeg Ice
• Wolf Lifts Tips to First Place - Everett Silvertips

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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