1978-79 BWK Series — Day 12 — Wheat Kings finish up record season

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This article was published 09/08/2021 (1667 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Most seasons are measured simply in wins, losses and ties. The great ones are measured by the record book.

All these years later, the 1978-79 Brandon Wheat Kings (58-5-9) still hold the Western Hockey League mark for most points with 125, and an incredible 49-game unbeaten streak that ran from Feb. 11, 1978 to Dec. 13, 1978. 

The closest anyone has come to the points record was in 2008-09 when the Calgary Hitmen went 59-9-3-1 for 122 points, but it’s worth noting the league had overtimes and shootouts by then.

In 2004, the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights started the season with a 31-game unbeaten streak, topping Brandon’s 29-game mark by two. The Wheat Kings still hold the WHL mark for longest streak to start a season and longest streak overall.

Brandon’s record of just five losses is five better than the 1976-77 Wheat Kings and the 1978-79 Portland Winterhawks. 

Brandon’s two losses at home is tied for second behind the 1973-74 New Westminster Bruins, who were unbeaten. The Wheat Kings’ 17-game unbeaten streak on the road was broken in 1999-2000 by the Hitmen, who went 18 games without a loss. They still hold the mark for fewest road losses with just three.

The team’s 491 goals is in third all time behind the 1986-87 Kamloops Blazers (496) and 1982-83 Winters Hawks (495).

The 85 shots they put on net against the Regina Pats on March 12, 1979 in a 14-4 win remains a league high.

Brian Propp set the record for goals (94) and points (194) for a left winger that season — he already had the assists record the year before with 112 — and his 194 points is third in WHL history.

Also, Propp tied Bill Derlago’s record of 13 hat tricks in a season, which was eclipsed in the 1983-84 when Ray Ferraro scored 15. Propp’s 16 game-winning goals remains the record.

The two goals Brandon scored six seconds apart on April 24, 1979 in a 13-3 win over the Lethbridge Broncos remains the two quickest markers in WHL playoff history.

Remarkably, in a season they played 104 times, just three teams beat them more than once, the Portland Winterhawks (four times), Saskatoon Blades (three) and Peterborough Petes (twice in overtime). They lost once to the Edmonton Oil Kings, Billings Bighorns, Trois-Riviéres Draveurs and Moscow Selects. 

Oddly, the team wasn’t a huge hit in Brandon. It seems almost unthinkable now but the 1978-79 team didn’t do especially well at the box office until late in the season.

BRUCE PENTON (Brandon Sun): “They were so good that it hurt the crowds. They were so dominant and so assured of victory at home that I think a lot of people just stayed away. It was such a foregone conclusion that the excitement level was not there, other than if Portland came to town or something like that.”

GREGG DRINNAN (Brandon Sun): “The one thing people might forget about that season is they didn’t draw that well. I don’t know if they averaged 2,500. Maybe some late season attendance brought the crowds up but part of that was they were too successful. They went 16-0 against Regina, so you had Regina coming into your building eight times and they weren’t going to sell any tickets. They just weren’t very good.”

BRUCE PENTON: “It was shameful I thought at the time but they were just so good that people stayed away. There is no reason there shouldn’t have been 4,500, 5,000 people there every game.”

» Tomorrow’s Sun: The playoffs begin.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson