Wheat Kings - Ice Playoff Primer

Ice - Wheat Kings Playoff Preview '09

By Jeff Bromley

History – None. The two clubs have never met in the playoffs. The 1300 KM, 14 hour drive by bus is the longest geographical playoff match-up in Kootenay’s history, besting the Prince George-Kootenay series in 2002 by five hours and almost 500 KM.

Head to Head – Kootenay (35-29-2-6; 78 pts) finished 23 points back of Brandon (48-19-3-2; 101 pts) in the Eastern Conference standings. Due to the goofy scoring system that awards points for losing games, the two clubs both finished with a 2-1-0-1 record against each other this season. Both games in Brandon went to a shootout, with each team winning one while both games in Cranbrook finished with a 3-2 result, with each team winning a game.

Top Scorers - C Andrew Clark (7g - 3a, 10pts) lit it up against the Ice in four games. C Tylan Stephens (2g - 4a, 6pts) was Kootenay top point-getter.

Key Injuries - RW Sanfred King (broken leg - done for season) is out while D Keith Aulie's status for game one (broken hand) is now a state secret that the playoffs have arrived. D Mark Schneider is day-to-day with a shoulder injury while C Scott Glennie (elbow) returned to the lineup last week. For the Ice C Dustin Sylvester (ankle 2-3 weeks) is out unless the Ice make the Memorial Cup. In other words for the rest of the season. D Cason Machacek (shoulder) is out at least another week while LW Matt Fraser (shoulder) will play Friday. C Steele Boomer (concussion) returned to the line-up after missing 25 games and G Nathan Lieuwen (concussion) should back-up Todd Mathews Friday in Brandon.

Goaltenders – The Wheat Kings’ starter Andrew Hayes enjoyed his coming out party this season as the number one goaltender in Brandon with a 30-11-2-1 record, a 2.84 goals against average and a .901 save percentage. The only question mark is the lack of playoff experience as Hayes was on the bench behind Joe Caligiuri in a six-game first round loss to the Hurricanes last season. A team deep in goaltenders to start the season Kootenay had to rely on Moose Jaw cast-off Todd Mathews after he was acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes and salvaged Kootenay’s season with a 14-11-0-2 record since joining the club after Christmas, notching a 2.86 GAA and a .904 save percentage in the process. Mathews, who like Hayes road the pine backing up Joey Perricone in Moose Jaw’s six-game first round loss to the Hitmen, has done everything he’s been asked of since joining the club, can he continue that success in the playoffs? Edge – Pick ‘em.

Defence – If there’s a kink in the armour of the Brandon Wheat Kings it might be their blueline. 19-year-old behemoth Keith Aulie broke his hand two weeks ago and missed the Wheaties last five games. He’s skating now and the club won’t divulge whether or not he’ll play. For the Ice Ian Barteaux, Eric Frere and Brayden McNabb have playoff experience but after that must rely on rookies Hayden Rintoul, James Martin and Tyler Vanscourt. The Wheat Kings still have Chad Erb, Brodie Melnychuk and Colby Robak with playoff experience but without Aulie the Ice hold the slight edge. If Aulie plays it’ll even the odds. Edge - Slight to Kootenay

Offence – Here’s where the Wheat Kings shine. The club can score by the bucketful and seemingly at will. Brandon scored 295 goals this season - third among all WHL teams behind Calgary and Vancouver - while the Ice scored a measly 220, with no player scoring 30 (Andrew Bailey - 28) for the first time in the club’s history. Brandon had three that reached the 30 goal plateau and two more - Matt Calvert and Scott Glennie - that notched 28 though they each missed significant time with injuries. Led by a sure-fire top-ten NHL Draft pick come June in Brayden Schenn, along with Jay Fehr, Andrew Clark, Calvert, Glennie, Nathan Green, Aaron Lewadniuk and Matt Lowry the Wheat Kings have arguably the most potent top nine forwards in the league. Edge – Big one to Brandon

Coaching – The owner, GM and coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings Kelly McCrimmon isn‘t exactly a novice at the playoff game, though he’s yet to win a championship McCrimmon did guide his club to a WHL final in 2004-05, losing to the Kelowna Rockets in five games. In his second season behind the bench of the Ice Mark Holick won his first WHL playoff round over the Tigers last season before dropping a five-game series to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Experience wins here. Edge – Brandon

Intangibles – Injuries are key at any time of the year but they’re never more evident than in the playoffs. Brandon missing Keith Aulie, if he doesn’t play, will hurt but not as much as the Ice missing the scoring of Dustin Sylvester. Yes, defence wins championships but the offensive edge the Wheaties hold will be too much for the Ice defence to overcome. Kootenay will need to stay out of the penalty box if they’re going to have any chance. Edge – Brandon

Prediction - The Wheat Kings, hosts of the 2010 Memorial Cup tournament next season are primed for a long run for their line-up full of young stars. In fact they might be a year early if they can get the goaltending and Aulie is healthy. For the Ice they’ve been overachieving all season long, so why stop now? Just getting to the playoffs is a major accomplishment but I just don’t see a Cinderella run this spring. - Brandon in five.