Wheaties prepare for surging Pats

If the Brandon Wheat Kings have a realistic shot at catching the Calgary Hitmen for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, they’ll need two points tonight at Assiniboine Credit Union Place.

All that stands in their way is one of the hotter teams in the Western Hockey League, the surging seventh-place Regina Pats (22-27-6-1).

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray certainly hasn’t missed how good the Pats have been.

“Regina is playing really well,” Murray said. “I think they’re 6-3-1 in their last 10. They’re a good team. They’ve played us hard every game this year. They’re deep, they roll one line after another, and their D are strong too and move the puck well.

“They’re a team we feel is better than where they are in the standings. We’re going to have to be good.”

Both teams are coming off 4-2 games against the Prince George Cougars, with the British Columbia club beating Brandon on Tuesday and falling to Regina on Wednesday.

The Pats rallied from a 2-1 deficit after 40 minutes with three goals in the third period for their sixth win in seven games as the Pats moved four points ahead of the eighth-place Moose Jaw Warriors and five points up on the ninth-place Red Deer Rebels.

“They’re a hard-working team,” second-year defenceman Nigel Boehm said. “We’ve seen that in the past, going into their barn especially. Being at home is a big thing for us — we’re good at home — and need to show that (tonight).”

The Wheat Kings (34-23-1-0) have 10 games remaining in the regular season, with four at home and six on the road.

They are five points behind the fourth-place Calgary Hitmen (33-15-7-1), who have two games in hand, and are three points ahead of the Saskatoon Blades (30-23-4-2), who have played one more game.

All three teams are in action tonight.

Brandon had its six-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday in the Cougars loss, and weren’t especially happy with their effort. Boehm said an important lesson they learned is how a lack of a consistent work ethic can hurt them.

“We need to bring it every game for a full 60 and we need to be physical, and coming into playoffs, this style will be a crucial part of game,” Boehm said. “It’s showing we’re men and laying the body as much as we can.”

The Wheat Kings were outshot 50-24, including a second period when it was 26-5, and didn’t win many puck battles against a motivated, physical, and fast opponent playing its third game in five nights with extensive travel.

“At this time of year, on our little run we were relatively good with our compete and I thought we took a step back last game against a team that played hard and pretty heavy,” Murray said. “In turn, we didn’t really generate that much, and the second period was disappointing. We won six in a row and lost that one, and now it’s up to us to get back on the horse.”

One player who was a physical presence on Tuesday was defenceman Dylan Ronald, who was skating in his first game since suffering a lower-body injury on Jan. 23 during a game against the Everett Silvertips during the West Coast trip. He missed 13 games in the last month.

“It was nice to be back,” said Ronald, who wants to play more physically every night. “They definitely helped me get into it fast. They played a very physical game, so it was nice to get into it quick.”

When it comes to Brandon’s injury situation, it almost seems like one step forward and two miles back.

Defenceman Merrek Arpin and forwards Carter Klippenstein and Easton Odut are done for the year, and forwards Caleb Hadland and Joby Baumuller are nursing upper-body injuries and remain out as well.

Rookie forward Chase Surkan also returned to game action on Tuesday, but both he and Ronald appeared to tweak their injuries at practice on Thursday and may be questionable. On top of that, veteran goaltender Jayden Kraus suffered an upper-body injury at practice on Wednesday that may limit his availability.

Still, the Wheat Kings are well aware of how much every point means.

“At this point, it’s a lot,” Boehm said of how often his team looks at the standings. “It’s also a lot of focusing on your games you have left and taking advantage of them and getting as many points as you can with the last few games.”

The Wheat Kings have three wins against the Pats, 3-2 in a shootout in Regina on Oct. 29, 8-5 in Brandon on Nov. 1, and 7-4 in Regina on Dec. 5.

The Pats have two wins in the season series, 6-4 in Regina on Oct. 18 and 6-3 in Brandon on Jan. 10.

The teams have two games left after tonight, a season-ending home-and-home series in Regina on March 20 and in Brandon on March 21.

“They’re on a heater right now,” Ronald said. “They have some decent skill, and they’re a team that works really hard. It will be a good test for us.”

Brandon’s other games they have left are against the Medicine Hat Tigers on March 4, in Swift Current on March 6, at home against Swift on March 7, at Calgary on March 11, at Red Deer on March 13, at Edmonton on March 14, and at Saskatoon on March 18. The puck drops tonight at 7.

ICINGS: Former equipment assistant Sawyer Wallin filled in at practice on Thursday with Kraus out. The under-18 AAA Yellowhead Chiefs goaltender from Brandon had a terrific .901 save percentage on a Yellowhead team that missed the playoffs this season.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com