April 1 PREVIEW: Pats vs Wheat Kings at 9 PM
The Brandon Wheat Kings (7-2-1-0) look for their fifth-straight win this evening when they take on the Regina Pats (4-4-2-0) at 9 PM Manitoba time from Regina’s Brandt Centre.
Last time they met
On March 20th the Wheat Kings got the best of the Pats in the team’s first meeting of the season, a 3-2 overtime win on goals from Lynden McCallum, Nolan Ritchie and a short handed goal from Ben McCartney. Ritchie scored 1:40 into the extra frame to win the game after the Pats tied it with 7 minutes left in regulation.
Ritchie currently leads all Wheat King scorers with 4 goals and 10 assists in 10 games, tied for third among all players in the East Division hub. McCartney is right behind with 6 goals and 7 assists for 13 points.
Filling the net
The Wheat Kings have scored 12 goals in their last 2 games, 7 of which came on Tuesday against the Prince Albert Raiders. 11 players have 2 or more goals so far this season and of the 22 skaters on their roster, only 5 have yet to find the back of the net. In the last two games, Marcus Sekundiak, Riley Ginnell, Ty Thorpe and Chad Nychuk have all scored their first goals of the season with Ginnell adding his second in the final seconds of their 7-1 win over the Raiders.
Power play improvement
The Wheat Kings capitalized 4 times on the power play Tuesday, improving their percentage to 31.5%, good for 1st in the East Division hub. Jake Chiasson, Ben McCartney and Vinny Iorio lead all Wheat Kings with 3 power play markers each.
Strong pipes
Ethan Kruger stopped 28 of 29 shots last game and now has a record of 5 wins and 1 loss, the second best in the division behind only Saskatoon’s Nolan Maier. His .908 Save Percentage is third only to Winnipeg’s Alexander Gage who has started three less games than Kruger, and Maier (0.917). Connor Ungar has also been solid when called upon in his three games started so far this season, sporting a 2-1 record to go along with his 0.893 save percentage.
Regina Pats Last 5 Games
March 30 – Regina Pats 3 – 2 Moose Jaw Warriors
March 29 – Regina Pats 9 – 4 Swift Current Broncos
March 26 – Regina Pats 3 – 7 Saskatoon Blades
March 25 – Regina Pats 5 – 3 Prince Albert Raiders
March 23 – Regina Pats 3 – 8 Winnipeg ICE
The Pats continue to reap the benefits of 15-year old Connor Bedard’s outstanding offence as the first player to receive exceptional status in the WHL currently leads the league in scoring (8G-11A-19 PTS). Bedard’s 10-game point streak is complemented by 20-year old forward Carson Denomie who lead the Pats with 9 goals.
The puck drops at 9 PM Manitoba time tonight and can be watched via the WHL Live streaming package at www.watch.chl.ca. Because the Wheat Kings are tonight’s “home” team, Wheat Kings play-by-play announcer Branden Crowe will be the voice calling the game on the stream. Fans can also hear Branden Crowe call the game on the radio at Q Country 91.5 FM or 880 on the AM dial.
