Klimchuk rolling for Wheat Kings
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/03/2015 (3840 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Slightly obscured by Tim McGauley’s remarkable 22-game point-scoring streak is a pretty fine run of hockey by his linemate, Morgan Klimchuk.
The 19-year-old Brandon Wheat Kings left-winger has produced points in 10 straight games, racking up seven goals and 12 assists in that span.
In fact, all three members of the line are on a roll as right-winger Peter Quenneville has amassed eight goals and three assists in his last four games for the leaders in the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference.
“Sometimes there’s one or two guys pulling a line, but we’ve got all three guys contributing on both sides of the puck,” said Klimchuk, whose team is preparing to host the Moose Jaw Warriors tonight. “I’m never really worried when we’re in the ‘D’ zone or at any time because we’ve got three guys that play the game the right way.”
Wheat Kings head coach and general manager Kelly McCrimmon agrees that the similarity in the trio’s game is one of the things that make them work so well together.
“They’re playing very well together,” McCrimmon said. “All good players obviously, but real intelligent players, and I think that they’ve developed great chemistry because of it. They play fast, they move the puck, they support the puck and they can score.”
A first-round draft pick of the National Hockey League’s Calgary Flames, Klimchuk, who turned 20 last week, was acquired from the Regina Pats in exchange for promising 17-year-old winger Jesse Gabrielle on Jan. 2. Leaving the only junior team he’d known for a longtime rival, Klimchuk took some time to get acclimated to his new surroundings, scoring the winning goal and adding two assists in his debut, but being shut out the next three games.
There are no chemistry questions now, though, as Klimchuk is up to 15 goals, 24 assists and a plus/minus of +17 in 27 games with his new team, providing the Wheat Kings with superb two-way play that has helped them go 19-2-1-2 since Jan. 11 as they try to chase down the Kelowna Rockets for first overall.
“Coming here I wasn’t really sure where I was going to fit in and I think it’s coming along quite nicely now,” the 6-foot-0, 185-pound Calgarian said. “I’ve got a lot of guys that I can bank on, and I hope they feel the same way about me.”
ONE-TIMERS: McGauley has 15 goals and 32 assists in his point streak — the longest by a Wheat King since Cory Cyrenne’s 23-game streak in 1997-98. McGauley is three points away from being Brandon’s first 100-point scorer since Mark Stone put up 123 in 2011-12 … Tickets for the Wheat Kings’ first two playoff games, scheduled for Thursday, March 26 and Friday, March 27, go on sale today at 10 a.m.
» rhenders@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @HendoRob