WHL Brandon Wheat Kings

Wheaties To Kick Off Home Stand

February 20, 2008 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release


Brandon, Manitoba -- The Wheat Kings will be looking to snap a 2-game losing streak and at the same time clinch a playoff berth in a very tight Eastern Division race Wednesday night when they take to the ice to meet the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors at Westman Communications Group Place.

Tonight's winner could move into second place in the Western Hockey League's Eastern Division as six points separate the top four teams. A victory by the Wheat Kings would also clinch Brandon its fiftheenth playoff berth in the past 16 years.

While the Wheat Kings currently sit third in the division and seventh in the Conference with a 34-21-2-2 record, the Warriors are fourth and eighth respectively with a 30-17-2-6 mark. Brandon enters this 6-game home stand, that continues this weekend with games against Kamloops on Friday and the Kootenay Ice on Saturday, trailing the second place Swift Current Broncos by a single point and the front running Regina Pats by five - with two games in hand on each of them. Moose Jaw meanwhile is one point back of Brandon and just two behind the Broncos.

With the next six games to be played in Brandon and with nine of the final 13 games to be played at Westman Place, Wheat Kings' assistant coach Dwayne Gylywoychuk knows how critical the final month of the regular season will be.

"By going .500 on the road last week, we've set ourselves up for what should a good run here," says Gylywoychuk. "Now that we're home, we have to take advantage....and as for the injuries, we've been through it before this year and we've learned from it and I'm confident the guys will step up."

The Wheat Kings were forced to wind up its recent 5-game road trip out west without their three overagers - Daryl Boyle, Tyler Dittmer and Theran Yeo - in the lineup.

The team's leading goal scorer with 31, Dittmer has missed the past two games after taking a slash to the hand during last Wednesday's 4-3 Overtime victory over the defending Memorial Cup Champion Giants in Vancouver. Boyle went down the next night in an 8-2 loss to Kelowna and after playing 202 consecutive games, the club's 20-year old captain has now been sidelined twice since Christmas that have cost him a total of eight games.

As for Yeo, he remains out with an ankle problem that has forced him to sit out the last nine games.

As for those Wheat Kings that are healthy, the "Baby Blue" line of rookies Brayden Schenn, Scott Glennie and Matt Calvert continues to produce. While Schenn leads the club in scoring with 23 goals and 58 points, Schenn, Calvert and Glennie sit 3-4-5 in WHL rookie scoring. A former scoring star with the AAA midget Wheat Kings, Calvert is 20-28-48 while Glennie, the club's second round pick in the 2006 bantam draft, is 17-27-44. During the club's last nine games, Schenn leads the club with four goals and 12 ponts while Glennie is 4-7-11.

Leading the Warriors this season has been veterans Jordan Knackstedt (25-46-71), gold medal winning Riley Holzapfel (14-14-28 in 38 games), newly acquired defenceman Keaton Ellerby and Ty Wishart as well as 20-year old California product Joey Perricone, who has played in 48 of the club's 58 games, compiling a 2.71 goals against average and five shutouts. A former member of the Prince George Cougars, Wishart currently leads all WHL defencemen in scoring with fourteen goals and 40 points in 58 games.

Wednesday's game will feature a special figure skating exhibition during the first intermission by the Carberry skating team - Collaboration - a presentation of MTS Allstream.

Tickets to tonight's game are on sale now at the Keystone box office, by calling 726-3555 or online at ticketmaster.ca.

Check out the Brandon Wheat Kings Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from February 20, 2008


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.

OurSports Central