Wheat Kings, Pats set to renew rivalry

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This article was published 02/01/2023 (721 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Brandon Wheat Kings hockey club that returned from the Christmas break with a pair of gems on the road and a New Year’s Eve stinker at home returns to Westoba Place tonight looking to rebound.

The Wheat Kings host the Regina Pats in Western Hockey League action this evening at 7 o’clock. Brandon shut out Regina 4-0 on Dec. 28, and on Dec. 30 pounded the host Moose Jaw Warriors 11-2. But one night later, the Warriors beat the Wheat Kings 6-2 in Brandon.

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray likes the way things are trending, although he noted his club wasn’t very good at home in a 5-2 loss to the Calgary Hitmen on Dec. 10 either.

“I think big picture I’m happy with the way things have gone,” Murray said. “I was obviously not thrilled with the effort on Saturday. It wasn’t a very good game, but you’re going to have those every once in a while. The big thing is to make sure you come out and don’t repeat the same thing.

“I thought our last two home games we’ve been very average at best against Calgary and Moose Jaw, so we have to get back to playing well at home because five of our next six are here.”

Brandon (14-17-4-0) was also set to play the Winnipeg Ice at home on Dec. 16 but the game was postponed when icy roads prevented the visitors from reaching the Wheat City.

Regina (18-17-1-1) will be without its superstar forward Connor Bedard, who is with Canada at the world junior championship, and defenceman Stanislav Svozil, who is skating with Czechia at the tournament.

“It definitely helps that he’s not in the lineup but we still have to come ready to play,” forward Tony Wilson said of Bedard. “We saw what happened with Moose Jaw in the second game. I think we took them a little bit lightly and didn’t get the result we wanted, so with Regina coming in, we really need to put our nose to the grindstone and just work hard.”

The teams have met twice this season, with both squads winning on the road. The Pats squeaked out a 3-1 victory on Oct. 5 when the Wheat Kings held a 52-27 edge in shots.

“They have (Tanner) Howe and a couple of solid lines there so as long as we can keep them playing in their D-zone and not turning pucks over in the wrong areas — they’re quite deadly off the rush, and that’s how they like to play, fast off the rush — if we can limit those, that will definitely help,” veteran forward Brett Hyland added.

The Edmonton product, who has a 10-game point streak but saw his nine-game goal-scoring streak end on Saturday, said his club simply has to play the way it did coming out of the Christmas break.

“Our two away games, 4-0 and 11-2, we can’t be mad at those at all,” said Hyland, who was given a day off from practice on Monday. “Our spirits were high there and we had guys contributing all over the lineup. Eleven different scorers in the Moose Jaw game, and if we can keep that going, not even scoring but guys just doing the right things and working the way they have been, then it’s going to be really, really good for us.”

One of the guys who contributed some offence was Wilson, who had goals in back-to-back games on the road in Saskatchewan. To make snapping his nine-game goalless drought with Brandon even sweeter, the Swift Current product did it in front of more than 20 friends and family each night.

“It was good to see,” Wilson said. “I had the monkey on my back for the first half of the season. It was pretty tough. I went home (for Christmas) and pushed that reset button and came back and put one in and it felt pretty good.”

The Wheat Kings and Pats still have three regular-season games left after tonight, with Bedard making what will likely be his final visit to Westoba Place on Feb. 24, based on the youngster playing in the National Hockey League next season. Brandon visits Regina on Feb. 25 and March 15 to complete their six-game season series.

The Wheat Kings remain without injured forwards Caleb Hadland and Ben Thornton, plus defenceman Andrei Malyavin, who was injured in Regina last week in a collision that netted Jaxsin Vaughan a checking-to-the-head major and game misconduct. The league hasn’t determined the length of Vaughan’s suspension.

But there is finally some reason for optimism on the Brandon injury front. Thornton has been skating in a red, no-contact jersey since before Christmas after getting hurt on Oct. 14, and rookie forward Hadland returned to the ice for the first time on Monday since breaking his fibula near the ankle during the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge on Nov. 3.

His teammates gave him a loud cheer when Hadland skated onto the ice for a short spin as they stretched after practice.

“It was good,” Hadland said. “The ankle is feeling better and it’s good to be back with the boys.”

He suffered the injury when he was tripped up and rolled his ankle in Canada Red’s opening game against Canada Black in Langley, B.C.

“It was unfortunate but all you can do is learn from it and get better from it and take it as a break,” Hadland said. “Hopefully I’ll come back and be better than ever.”

None of the injured players are expected to be in the lineup tonight.

Hyland expects a motivated Pats club will be on the ice tonight, and his team has to respond to the pushback.

He said it’s also time to start playing better at Westoba Place, where the team is 5-9-2-0 this season, compared to 9-8-2-0 on the road.

“This place has history going back a lot of years as a tough rink to play in and we haven’t done the greatest job of that this year,” Hyland said. “We really, really want to prove something in this building, especially come playoff time. We want teams to come in here and know what they’re in for. It’s going to be a war. We have to get back to that.”

ICINGS: The Pats made a deal on Tuesday, sending 18-year-old goaltender Matthew Kieper of Winnipeg to the Kamloops Blazers for a fourth-round pick (via Edmonton) in 2023 and a sixth-round pick in 2025. The Pats now have 19-year-old Drew Sim and 17-year-old Kelton Pyne has their netminding tandem … The WHL named its top performers of the week on Tuesday, with 19-year-old Red Deer Rebels forward Kai Uchacz and 18-year-old Winnipeg Ice netminder Daniel Hauser earning the honours.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson

 

Brandon Wheat Kings vs Regina Pats

7 p.m. at Westoba Place.

6:30 p.m. (CKLQ): 7 p.m. (WHL Live)

WHEAT KINGS

Record: 14-17-4-0, 32 points.

Players to watch:

Nate Danielson (35gp, 18g, 25a, 43pts).

Brett Hyland (31gp, 18g, 17a, 35pts).

Nolan Ritchie (34gp, 13g, 21a, 34pts).

Goalies:

Carson Bjarnason (12-11-2-0, 2.99 gaa, .909 pct).

Nick Jones (2-6-2-0, 4.28 gaa, .866 pct).

Key injuries: Ben Thornton, Caleb Hadland, Andrei Malyavin.

Power play: 21.4 per cent (11th in WHL).

Penalty killing: 80.0 per cent (7th in WHL).

Total goals for/against: 106-125.

Last 10 games: 6-2-2-0.

Head to head vs. Regina: 1-1-0-0.

PATS

Record: 18-17-1-1, 38 points.

Players to watch:

Alexander Suzdalev (35gp, 21g, 26a, 47pts).

Tanner Howe (36gp, 21g, 26a, 47pts).

Borya Valis (33gp, 14g, 17a, 31pts).

Goalies:

Drew Sim (14-9-1-0, 3.20 gaa, .898 pct).

Matthew Kieper (4-5-0-1, 4.39 gaa, .865 pct).

Key absences: Connor Bedard, Stanislav Svozil, Tye Spencer, Zachary Shantz.

Power play: 25.7 per cent (7th in WHL).

Penalty killing: 76.6 per cent (15th in WHL).

Total goals for/against: 134-145.

Last 10 games: 5-5-0-0.

Head to head vs. Brandon: 1-1-0-0.