Wheat Kings look to limit Canes talent

By Lethbridge Herald on March 27, 2025.

Perry Bergson 

The Brandon Sun

The loss of just one of the 136 points up for grabs in a Western Hockey League season has utterly reshaped the post-season for the Brandon Wheat Kings as their playoff drive begins tonight in Lethbridge.

The Wheat Kings held the tie-breaker over the Prince Albert Raiders in the battle for the East Division crown and the second seed in the Eastern Conference, but finished one point back in the standings.

As a result, instead of opening tonight at Westoba Place against the Edmonton Oil Kings, a club they beat in all four matchups this season, the Wheat Kings are in Alberta facing the powerful Hurricanes, who added some significant pieces to make a long playoff run.

“Lethbridge is a great team,” Brandon forward Roger McQueen said. “They have a good coach (Bill Peters), they play really well and they’re very structured. I think their forwards are really talented, they have a great top six and good third line and fourth line.

“They’re a team that is going to work hard and we have to bring our A game if we want to beat them.”

Of course Brandon forward Carter Klippenstein is happy with how things turned out. After all, the 18-year-old Lethbridge product gets some extra games at home.

“It’s awesome,” Klippenstein said. “I grew up watching the playoffs there so being in it now in that building, I can’t wait. I’m really excited to get going.”

The series opens in Lethbridge tonight at 8 p.m. — all times CDT — and Saturday at 7 p.m., before moving to Virden’s Tundra Oil and Gas Place for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m. If needed Game 5 is back in Alberta on Friday at 8 p.m., Game 6 would be in Virden on Sunday at 4 p.m. and a deciding Game 7 is set for Lethbridge on Tuesday at 8 o’clock.

The series will be the fifth between the Wheat Kings and the Hurricanes, with both teams winning twice so far.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Simply put, Brandon has to find a way to neutralize the dazzling players at the top of the Lethbridge lineup, while capitalizing on its own opportunities.

“The biggest thing is limiting their talent,” Marcus Nguyen said. “They have Yager, Edwards, Wormald and Price and Chadwick on the back end. Those guys drive their team. Whenever you’re in a series, you want to find the heartbeat of the team and that’s how you get to everybody else. Those top guys are really leading the way and if we shut those guys down and play our fast style of game, we’re going to have a good chance for sure.”

That’s why their approach is so key. Quinn Mantei, the fourth-year defenceman who recently shared honours as the club’s top blue-liner with his partner Shipley, said it all starts with the forwards and radiates back.

“One of the big things is going to be our forecheck and dialling that in,” Mantei said. “They break pucks out fairly well and we have to make it hard on them in their zone. We know they have some high-end players, but we have to stay on top of them, be hard on them, don’t let them off easy, don’t turn the puck over in the neutral zone and give them short ice. Those are just a few things we can focus on to try to neutralize them.”

Regardless, the top NHL draft prospect McQueen is happy to return to the post-season.

“The playoffs are the best time of the year,” McQueen said. “I think the guys are pumped. We’ve worked through 68 games to get to this point, and it’s the time of the season where the grind stops. It’s just about our team and getting back to fundamentals. I’m so happy to get going.