Since the start of December, the Brandon Wheat Kings haven’t spent very much time away from Westoba Place. They’re going to have to get a lot more comfortable with bus legs and road miles this week as they head off to Wildrose country.
It’s a three-game-in-three-night road swing for the Wheat Kings for the first time since November as they take on the Calgary Hitmen, Red Deer Rebels, and Edmonton Oil Kings in quick succession. They go into the trip on the heels of a tough 7-3 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers.
“The third period (against Medicine Hat) we had some self-inflicted problems where we turned the puck over in bad areas of the ice,” said head coach and GM Marty Murray. “Good teams will make you pay for that and that was the case on Sunday.”
While the Hitmen are further down the standings than the Tigers, they’ve lately brought an extremely balanced offense to the table. They’ve had five or more goal scorers in a game 13 times this season, and have done five times just in the games since January 1. Entering this week, they’re tied with the Prince Albert Raiders for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.
“They’re a really hard working team,” Murray said. “They’re playing some of their best hockey of the season right now and everybody recognizes it’s that time of year where there are playoff implications every game. They’ve really upped their game and are playing well.”
The opponents don’t get any easier from there for the Wheat Kings. Next up will be the Red Deer Rebels, who sit ahead of the Wheat Kings in the standings by six points, holding the fourth spot in the conference. From there, they’ll wrap up the trip in Edmonton against the Oil Kings at 4:00 local time.
A longer trip like this, however, does offer some positives. With Nicholas Johnson and Rhett Ravndahl having just joined the team via trade, they’ll get their first road trip with the team to bond with their new teammates.
“I think it’s always good to get to know your teammates and every day it’s an opportunity to get more comfortable,” Murray said. “We’re looking forward to getting them on the road. Nick is from Calgary, so it’ll be a nice experience for him and hopefully they keep progressing.”
The Wheat Kings will return home briefly after this trip, hosting the Red Deer Rebels on Friday, February 2 before traveling to Swift Current to face the Broncos the very next day.
(Article courtesy of the Brandon Wheat Kings)
