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Wheat Kings Wrap up Eight Game Homestand against Blades

December 28, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release


It's been a long stretch of home games for the Brandon Wheat Kings through the month of December, and they've certainly made the most of it. Now, the longest homestand of the season is finally coming to a close.

The Wheat Kings will welcome the Saskatoon Blades on Friday, December 29 for their final home game of 2023 and their last of an eight-game homestand that has occupied the whole month of December so far. Facing down a Blades squad that sits first in the entire WHL, the Wheat Kings know they'll need to get right back to work after a 5-4 overtime win over the Regina Pats.

"We have a lot of hockey here in a short period of time," said head coach and GM Marty Murray. "We found a way to win last night (against Regina) that wasn't perfect by any means, but those games, the first game after Christmas, they're always hard and I thought our guys showed some character in the third period to come back last night."

That win over Regina was the sixth win in seven outings on the current homestand, a streak that has catapulted them up the standings to sit all alone in third place in the Eastern Conference. While the team isn't prepared to rest on any laurels, they know they've gotten a lot out of a comparatively favorable schedule.

"The guys have been playing well through the month of December," Murray said. "It's a huge month, and they've responded. The greedy part of me goes back to the game against Moose Jaw, where we're tied up with two minutes left and we give up a late one, that one stings a little bit. But you look at the big picture, six and one on this homestand is pretty good and hopefully we can wrap it up nicely tomorrow."

Though he called it greedy, Murray also acknowledged the need to pile up as many points as possible. The Wheat Kings hold third place at the moment, but a bad weekend could see them dislodged, as the standings in the East remain nearly air-tight.

"We've been playing some really good hockey in the month of December but you look and it's still really jammed up from third to tenth," said Murray. "It's a day-by-day thing here and with two more points on the table we've got to do whatever we can to get them against a good Saskatoon team."

Once they're done with the homestand, the Wheat Kings see a pair of familiar opponents. First, they'll face the Regina Pats on Saturday, December 30. Then, after a Sunday off, they'll take on the Blades again on Monday, January 1 at 4:00 in the afternoon.

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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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