Wheat Kings make playoffs for first time in two years
The Western Hockey League's Brandon Wheat Kings are guaranteed to play at least 72 games this season.
This past week, Manitoba's lone WHL club qualified for the 2024 postseason with a victory over the Prince Albert Raiders at home, despite dealing away captain Nate Danielson at the trade deadline.
“It feels pretty good,” said the team's head coach and general manager Marty Murray. “The last little while you could taste it, we were so close but not able to finalize it. It means a lot to us to get it done by ourselves and not rely on anyone else to take care of business for us.”
Through 66 of the 68 regular season games, Brandon will close out its home schedule with a date against the Moose Jaw Warriors on Thursday, before concluding the year on the road in Regina against the Pats.
With a number of teams yet to secure placements, the Wheat Kings do not yet know their first round opponent, but as a bottom-feeder club, Brandon will be facing one of the Eastern Conference' top dogs.
Putting things into perspective, the Wheat Kings currently have a 31-28-6-1 record for 69 points and a win percentage of .523. The league's top team, Saskatoon, owns 99 points (47-13-2-3) for a .762 win percentage with one less game played than Brandon. The two teams could meet in the first round. Swift Current and Moose Jaw are also possible opponents.
The playoffs are set to begin on Friday, March 29. Despite not fully knowing which team the Wheat Kings are going to face, the club does know that it will start on the road for two games, before returning home to Westoba Place for the middle stages of the series. Wheat Kings playoff tickets can be purchased through the CHL website.
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