PREVIEW: Oil Kings Head to Manitoba to Battle Brandon
Brandon, Man. – The Edmonton Oil Kings hit the road tonight as they open up a two-game road trip in the Eastern portion of the Western Hockey League tonight in Brandon against the Wheat Kings.
The Oil Kings are coming off just one game over the last week, a 4-1 win in their Home Opener against the Calgary Hitmen. Miroslav Holinka had a goal and an assist in his Oil Kings debut, while Gavin Hodnett continued his torrid start with a goal and an assist himself. Adam Jecho also added one in his return to the Kingdom. In net, Alex Worthington stopped 33 of 34 shots he saw as he now holds a .933 save percentage through his first two starts of the year.
The opponents tonight, the Brandon Wheat Kings are coming off a weekend where they were handed their first loss of the season after a 3-0-0-0 start. On September 27, the Wheat Kings beat the Prince Albert Raiders 4-1 before dropping a 4-3 decision to the Blades in Saskatoon. Roger McQueen is currently the man of the hour for Brandon as he leads the WHL with nine points and is tied for the league lead with six goals.
Tonight marks the first of four meetings between the Oil Kings and the Brandon Wheat Kings. Last season, the two clubs also met four times, with the Oil Kings going 1-3-0-0 in those games and scoring a total of 12 goals and giving up 21. Gavin Hodnett led the way offensively for Edmonton last season with six points in four games. For the Wheat Kings, Nolan Flamand had seven points in the four head-to-head meetings.
The Oil Kings will also get some reinforcements as well this weekend as forward Gracyn Sawchyn has been returned to the Oil Kings after a strong showing at NHL Training Camp with the Florida Panthers. Meanwhile, Oil Kings forward Rylen Roersma makes his return to Brandon after spending four-plus seasons in the Wheat City. He had an assist in his first game as an Oil King on Saturday.
Puck drop is 6 p.m. in Alberta on Friday night from Westoba Place in Brandon. You can listen to the game on iHeartRadio.
Oil Kings Scoring Leaders: (GP, G-A-Pts)
- Gavin Hodnett (3, 1-4-5)
- Miroslav Holinka (1, 1-1-2)
- Rylen Roersma (2, 1-1-2)
- Joe Iginla (3, 1-1-2)
- Blake Fiddler (3, 0-2-2)
Wheat Kings Scoring Leaders: (GP, G-A-Pts)
- Roger McQueen (4, 6-3-9)
- Marcus Nguyen (4, 3-3-6)
- Nolan Flamand (3, 1-5-6)
- Quinn Mantei (4, 0-5-5)
- Three players tied at 3 Pts
2024-25 Schedule vs. Brandon Wheat Kings
Friday, Oct 4 @ Brandon
Sunday, Dec 1 @ Edmonton
Wednesday, Feb 26 @ Brandon
Wednesday, March 5 @ Edmonton