Brandon by the numbers in a superb season

Opinion

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This article was published 06/03/2015 (3850 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Having clinched first place in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with eight games still to play, it has already been a season to remember for the Brandon Wheat Kings.

And with the playoffs just around the corner — 20 days away, to be exact — here’s a look at some numbers of note as the Wheat Kings gear up to take a run at the league title:

314 — The number of career games Brandon blue-liner Eric Roy has played in, trailing only Dwayne Gylywoychuk (323), Lance Monych (319) and Brodie Melnychuk (318). If he plays all eight remaining games, Roy could reach 322, which would come up just one short of Chewy’s franchise record he set during his five-year career from 1989 to 1994.

101 — The Wheat Kings’ current point total, tied with the Kelowna Rockets for first in the WHL. It’s the seventh time in Brandon’s 48-year history in the league that the Wheat Kings have cracked the 100-point plateau. If they run the table, Brandon could finish with 117 points, which would be second-best in franchise history next to the legendary 1978-79 WHL championship team that posted a brilliant 58-5-9 record.

92 — Wheat Kings centre Tim McGauley’s team-leading point total — second in the league to Medicine Hat Tigers forward Trevor Cox (99 points). With 38 goals and 54 assists, McGauley is on pace to reach 103 points this season. The last Brandon player to hit triple digits was former captain Mark Stone, who amassed 123 points in 2011-12.

55 — How many points Brandon defenceman Ivan Provorov has this season, tops among all WHL rookies.

41 — McGauley’s team-leading plus/minus rating, tied for fourth-best in the league.

39 — The number of wins Wheat King goaltender Jordan Papirny has earned this season, seven more than any other netminder in the league. Papirny is second in the WHL in minutes played (3,206), third in shutouts (five), seventh in save percentage (.909) and ninth in goals-against average (2.81).

20 — McGauley’s current point streak (13 goals, 42 points), the longest in the WHL this season. McGauley’s streak is also the second-longest active streak in the country, behind Connor McDavid’s 25-game run with the OHL’s Erie Otters. It’s also the longest streak by a Brandon player since Cory Cyrenne posted points in 23 straight games in 1997-98.

19 — Where the Wheat Kings’ penalty killing ranks among the WHL’s 22 teams, one of Brandon’s few glaring weaknesses as the playoffs approach.

16 — Brandon’s longest point streak of the season, going 14-0-1-1 to earn at least one point in every game from Jan. 11 to Feb. 16.

13 — The number of consecutive starts Papirny made before finally getting a night off on Wednesday when Alex Moodie backstopped Brandon to a 7-3 victory over Lethbridge.

10 — Rookie centre Nolan Patrick’s and captain Peter Quenneville’s team-leading power-play goal totals.

9 — The Wheat Kings’ longest road winning streak of the season, also running from Jan. 11 to Feb. 16.

8 —Where Brandon ranks in the league in goals against (198), another area the Wheat Kings will need to tighten up to go deep in the playoffs.

7 — How many 20+ goal scorers Brandon has: McGauley (38 goals), Rihards Bukarts (29), Morgan Klimchuk (27), Nolan Patrick (26), Jayce Hawryluk (25), Quenneville (23) and Reid Duke (20).

6 — The number of career shutouts Papirny has posted, tied for sixth most in franchise history.

5 — The longest goal-scoring streak by a Wheat King this season — twice by McGauley and once by Bukarts.

4 — Brandon’s position in the CHL top-10 rankings this week, behind the No.1 Oshawa Generals, No.2 Kelowna and the No.3 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

3 — The number of victories the Wheat Kings need in their final eight games to reach the 50-win mark, something the franchise has accomplished four times in its history in the WHL. No.3 is also where Brandon ranks in the league on the power play this season (24.7 per cent).

2 — The number of goals Brandon needs to score to become the first team in the league to hit the 300 mark. The Wheat Kings have actually scored 20 more goals than any other team in the league this season (the Rockets have 278 with eight games remaining).

1 — Where Wheat Kings head coach/general manager Kelly McCrimmon ranks in the franchise’s list of career coaching victories (his 411 wins is tied with Marcel Comeau for 13th on the WHL’s all-time list). One is also the number of times that Brandon has picked first overall in the WHL bantam draft, selecting Winnipegger Stelio Mattheos with the No.1 overall pick last year.

0 — The number of home playoff games that the Wheat Kings will have to play elsewhere this season during to the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. Brandon will begin the playoffs against a yet-to-be-determined opponent with home games on Thursday, March 26 and Friday, March 27 at Westman Place before hitting the road for three games and returning to the Wheat City following the fair for a possible Game 6 and Game 7 in a 2-3-2 first-round playoff format. March 26-27 will be the first two of potentially 16 home playoff games that Wheat King fans may get to enjoy this season.