Wheat Kings aim to keep rolling

What a difference a week can make in the life of a junior hockey team.

On Oct. 24, a Brandon Wheat Kings squad with high expectations in the Western Hockey League was off to a 2-6-1-0 start. But after reeling off three straight wins over a five-day stretch, things are looking up for Brandon (5-6-1-0) as they prepare to face the Regina Pats (4-7-1-1) tonight at 6, and the Calgary Hitmen (8-3-1-0) on Sunday at 4 at Assiniboine Credit Union Place.

“They do change at the drop of a hat and they can change back the other way too,” Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said of his squad’s recent success. “Once you get complacent and comfortable, that’s when you’re asking for trouble.

“Hopefully we can keep sharpening our tools. Our guys would admit it was nice to get a win on the road in Regina, but we can be better too. It’s getting sharper every day and making improvements and getting ready to face a hungry team.”

Second-year forward Jaxon Jacobson said his club was able to weather the early struggles by never letting the adversity define them.

“We knew the whole time we had the group of guys to get the wins,” Jacobson said. “Obviously the start wasn’t at all what we wanted, but we didn’t get too negative, we just knew we had to switch some stuff and work harder every day to get better. We’ve been doing that and we have to keep going because every other team is going through the same thing.

“We have to be a step ahead.”

Brandon started the current streak with a 7-0 win over the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes last Saturday and then beat Moose Jaw 8-4 a day later. The Wheat Kings then earned their first road victory in three tries when they topped Regina 3-2 in a shootout on Wednesday at Brandt Centre.

“It’s great,” Jacobson said. “We’re just looking forward to keeping it up. The bounces are starting to go our way, and we’ve been working hard for them. It’s been a great feeling.”

Brandon also visited Regina on Oct. 18 and lost 6-4 after falling behind 3-0 and being outshot 17-3 in the first period. On Wednesday, Filip Ruzicka was terrific in stopping 28 shots — and three more in the shootout — and Jordan Gavin scored on an outstanding move in the skills competition for the win.

“They work, they skate, they’re kind of a different team than we’ve seen the last few years, where they were big and heavy and finish a lot of checks,” Murray said of the Pats. “Now they can scoot around the ice, they work hard and they’re playing some good hockey right now. They play (Friday) in Moose Jaw in a three-in-four, so we have to take advantage of it.”

Regina visited the Moose Jaw Warriors last night and finish up a stretch of three games in four nights in Brandon. Calgary, meanwhile, headed to the Art Hauser Centre to play the Prince Albert Raiders last night and have today off.

The Hitmen are a bit more of a mystery.

After they graduated forwards Oliver Tulk, David Adaszynski, Connor Hvidston, and Tanner Howe, plus defenceman Carter Yakemchuk, they were widely expected to take a step back. Instead, they’ve been one of the league’s early surprises.

“Calgary is a team we don’t know a whole lot about,” Murray said. “They’re one of the younger teams in the league, but they skate and work too. It will probably be very similar games in the speed we see, and they’re playing really good hockey as well. It’s a big weekend for us as well.

“It’s two teams right in the thick of things trying to jockey for positioning in the standings.”

If there’s one place Brandon’s game has really advanced this season, it has to be defending their own net. They could always score, but now they’re doing a better job of preventing goals.

The numbers make it clear, with the Wheat Kings giving up 40 or more shots in three of their first five games, and it happening just once in seven outings since.

In the last three games, they’ve won six of the nine periods and tied their opponent twice, and had more shots on net or tied their opponent six times.

Murray said he’s especially noticed a reduction in the chances against his team has surrendered, with the bevy of odd-man rushes and backdoor one-timers they allowed being one of the major reasons they struggled out of the gate.

“You could see it coming against Kamloops, Vancouver and even the Swift Current game we lost,” Murray said. “We started giving up a lot of less shots and chances. We still have a ways to go, but I think we’re making progress.”

Jacobson said it’s become a matter of some importance to he and his teammates.

“I think that’s something we take a lot of pride in,” Jacobson said. “We started off the year a little loose, but I think it’s something we’re taking way more pride in and it’s contributing to a lot of offence.”

The second-year forward, who doesn’t turn 17 until Dec. 11, is second in the league in the assists race behind Everett Silvertips forward Matias Vanhanen of Finland, who has 21 in 14 games. Jacobson has 19 assists in a dozen outings, with three goals.

“I love setting up my teammates,” Jacobson said. “I also see myself as more of a goal scorer than I’ve shown, but I think if I keep working, the pucks are going to go in.”

He has been especially productive on Brandon’s lethal power play, which leads the league at 43.5 per cent. Jacobson has a goal and eight assists on the man advantage, although rookie sniper Chase Surkan remains away at the U17 World Challenge for at least another week.

“Every time I’m out there, it’s a lot of fun and I feel like we’re going to score,” Jacobson said. “No matter who I’m playing with, it seems like if I get them the puck, it ends up in the back of the net.”

The Wheat Kings finally head out on the road for an extended stretch next weekend after hosting the Swift Current Broncos on Wednesday. By the time that mid-week game is over, they’ll have played a third of their 34 home games this season in the first seven weeks of the 26-week regular season.

That makes the games at Assiniboine Credit Union Place count that much more as they strive to improve on their home record of 4-4-1-0.

“It would be huge to keep the momentum going,” Jacobson said. “We don’t want anything to stop us now. We have the wheels rolling.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com