WHL Brandon Wheat Kings

Wheaties and Calgary have short playoff history

Published on April 6, 2005 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release


Brandon, Manitoba - When the Brandon Wheat Kings hit the Keystone Centre ice Friday night to face off against the visiting Calgary Hitmen in the opening game of their best of seven Eastern Conference Semi-Final, they'll be playing a Calgary team for only the third time in Western Hockey League playoff history.

The Wheat Kings have won the two playoff series against teams from Calgary. The last time was the '98 Eastern Conference Finals when Cory Cyrenne, Stefan Cherneski and Kirby Law led Brandon to a 5-game series win in their best of seven series. Brandon was coached by the winningest coach in franchise history, Bob Lowes, while the Hitmen were led by ex-Wheat Kings' bench boss Dean Clark.

The only other playoff series between these two cities came back in the spring of 1980 when the Wheat Kings, who finished fifth in the Eastern Division with a 33-37-2 mark, upset the heavily favored Calgary Wranglers in the seventh and deciding game of their opening round playoff series at the Stampede Corral. With another former Wheat King coach, Doug Sauter, behind the Wrangler bench, Calgary was coming off a second place finish in the Division with an impressive record of 43-27-2.

Among the players that participated in that series was current Hitmen coach and general manager Kelly Kisio and Wheat Kings' owner / GM / coach Kelly McCrimmon. While McCrimmon was the inspirational captain of that 1980 club, Kisio was one of the league's top scorers that winter, finishing fourth in the WHL with 65 goals and 138 points.

Brandon enters this weekend's series, which will continue on Saturday night before shifting to the Pengrowth Saddledome for games three and four, with an overall playoff record of 8-4-0 against Calgary's WHL teams. During the 2004-05 regular season, the Wheat Kings posted a 2-1-1 record against the Hitmen, with captain Tim Konsorada leading the club in scoring with two goals and eight points.

Both the Wheat Kings and the Hitmen advanced to round two by disposing of Moose Jaw and Lethbridge respectively. Brandon hasn't played since last Saturday's series clinching 9-1 victory over the Warriors in Moose Jaw.

This Eastern Division semi-final will also feature two brother acts facing off against one another. While former Prince George Cougar defenceman Dylan Yeo skates for the Hitmen, his younger brother Theran is a rookie blueliner with the Wheat Kings. Meanwhile 17-year old goalkeeper Tyler Plante, the WHL's Eastern Conference Rookie of the Year Finalist, will be going up against his younger brother Alex, who joined the Hitmen for the balance of the season when his midget club - the AAA Wheat Kings lost out to the Central Plains Capitals in the Manitoba Midget League playoffs.

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, less than three thousand tickets had been purchased for the series opener on Friday. Fans looking to get tickets can do so by visiting the Keystone Centre box office, by calling 726-3555 or by going on-line at Ticketmaster.ca.

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Western Hockey League Stories from April 6, 2005


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