Wheat Kings gearing up for the MasterCard Memorial Cup
The Brandon Wheat Kings have been on quite a roll for the past month and hope that they can keep it going all the way to the MasterCard Memorial Cup.
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The Wheat Kings, who will host the CHL’s annual championship tournament next month, won their final eight regular season games and have stretched that winning streak to 14 straight games into the second round of the Western Hockey League playoffs.
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The Wheat Kings swept aside the Swift Current Broncos in the opening round of the playoffs and have a 2-0 lead on the Saskatoon Blades in the second round.
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The Wheat Kings were out of their home for the start of the series for the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair so the Blades hosted the first two games. The Wheat Kings now have a chance to claim the series at home with the next three games all scheduled to be played at the Keystone Centre.
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Despite being up 2-0 and heading home for the next three games of the series, Wheat Kings’ GM/coach Kelly McCrimmon said that he knows there is still lots of hockey left in this series.
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“We’re taking nothing for granted,” McCrimmon told The Saskatoon Star Phoenix after Game 2. “As close as the games have been, we know we’re going to have to play this well again. It’s a series that involves the No. 2 team in the WHL and the No. 3 team in the WHL, so I doubt that anyone is going to go away.”
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Despite having an automatic entry into the Memorial Cup, the Wheat Kings are determined to earn their way into the tournament as WHL champions.
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They added some depth at the WHL trade deadline, including Team Canada defenceman Travis Hamonic, a Brandon native.
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“Obviously I was pretty ecstatic to have a chance to come to Brandon and play in my hometown,” Hamonic said. “There’s a lot of tradition, a lot of respect and a lot of honour that comes with wearing this jersey. To have a chance to put it on and become part of the history is pretty eventful for me. I’m pretty happy and pretty excited.”
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Hamonic was injured at the World Juniors and didn’t get into the Wheat Kings’ lineup until late February and is anxious to make up for lost time.
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“It’s pretty exciting to have the chance to play in the two biggest tournaments in junior hockey,” Hamonic said. “At the same time, we want to make sure that we earn our way through the playoffs and get there as the WHL champion. With that, we have to make sure that we do it round by round and game by game. It’s definitely very exciting but I’m looking forward to playing in the playoffs.”