Series in 2018 provided memorable moments

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This article was published 28/03/2025 (202 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

You would have received some long odds betting on a matchup between the Brandon Wheat Kings and the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the spring of 2018.

The Wheat Kings earned the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference that season despite posting a 40-27-3-2 record, which landed them fourth place in the East Division. The Hurricanes went 33-33-6-0, second in the Central Division and fifth in the conference.

The 2017-18 season is best remembered as the year when general managers around the league took the trade deadline to an absurd new level. The Memorial Cup host Regina Pats, Swift Current Broncos and conference-leading Moose Jaw Warriors all made multiple substantial deals, with Brandon choosing to trade captain Tanner Kaspick and world junior defenceman Kale Clague in a heated sellers market.

Lethbridge was also in on the action, sending Stuart Skinner, Giorgio Estephan and Tanner Nagel to Swift Current for picks and players

While Lethbridge took care of the Red Deer Rebels by scoring 27 times in five games, Brandon hit the wall against the Medicine Hat Tigers, dropping the first two games 7-2 and 7-3. Brandon’s overage netminder Logan Thompson started Game 1 but struggled with an injury and didn’t see playoff action again.

With Brandon kicked out of Westoba Place as the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair filled all 540,000 feet of the Keystone Centre, the series resumed at Credit Union Place in Dauphin.

The Wheat Kings won twice there, once back in Medicine Hat, and in overtime in Game 6 back in Dauphin, Wheat Kings forward Linden McCorrister scored the series-clinching goal in overtime.

The conference semifinal began on April 6, 2018, perhaps the most infamous date in Canadian junior hockey history.

Not long before the game started at Enmax Centre, a truck driver drove past a stop sign and hit the Humboldt Broncos bus, killing 16 people and injuring 13 more. Nobody from either team knew about the tragedy during the game, with team officials waiting until after to tell the players.

Prior to Game 2, a touching tribute was held at centre ice, with the Wheat Kings and Hurricanes players standing together to honour the victims of the crash.

By the time the second round began, the Winter Fair was over and Brandon was able to return to Westoba Place for what proved to be a quick series.

Here’s a look back.

GAME 1

• Lethbridge 5, Brandon 1

• Date: April 6, 2018.

• BWK goal scorers: Marcus Sekundiak.

• Lethbridge scorers: Taylor Ross (2), Jordy Bellerive (2), Jadon Joseph. BWK goalie: Dylan Myskiw.

• Lethbridge goalie: Logan Flodell.

• Shots: 35-26 LET.

• PP: BWK 0-2. LET 4-6.

• Attendance: 4,049.

• RECAP: It didn’t take long for Brandon to get frustrated, and they handed Lethbridge six power-play chances: The Hurricanes thanked them by scoring four times. The first goal of the game by Ross came shorthanded as Lethbridge built a 2-0 lead in the opening frame, so all five goals came on special teams for the Hurricanes. With Brandon trying to claw back in during the third period, the hosts outshot them 14-4.

• THEY SAID IT: Brandon head coach David Anning — “Obviously we need to cut down on our penalties. We have to do a better job with our checking and our sticks, and our penalty kill is going to have to step up. Special teams played a big factor in the outcome.”

GAME 2

• Lethbridge 5, Brandon 4 (OT)

• Date: April 7, 2018.

• BWK goal scorers: Marcus Sekundiak, Connor Gutenberg, Stelio Mattheos, Evan Weinger.

• Lethbridge scorers: Jordy Bellerive (2), Taylor Ross, Jake Elmer, Tate Olson.

• BWK goalie: Dylan Myskiw.

• Lethbridge goalie: Logan Flodell.

• Shots: 47-33 LET.

• PP: BWK 0-6. LET 1-8.

• Attendance: 4,412.

• RECAP: Nobody knew it at the time, but the series was essentially won in Game 2. Weinger scored a shorthanded goal 4:27 into the second period to put Brandon up 4-0, and it looked like the series might be tied. Instead, the Hurricanes began to chip away, with Bellerive and Ross scoring two minutes apart late in the second period. Elmer tied it with 2:28 left in regulation, and Lethbridge beat Myskiw with its 11th shot in overtime when Olson found the net to put the hosts up 2-0.

• THEY SAID IT: Brandon head coach David Anning — “We found ourselves with a 4-0 lead and were doing things well. We took some careless penalties after that and we ended up giving a four-on-four goal and a short-handed goal and it changed the look of the game. I didn’t think we responded overly well and didn’t handle that situation the way we would have liked.”

GAME 3

• Brandon 5, Lethbridge 4

• Date: April 10, 2018.

• BWK goal scorers: Luka Burzan (2), Linden McCorrister, Ty Lewis, Stelio Mattheos.

• Lethbridge scorers: Brad Morrison (2), Calen Addison, Logan Barlage.

• BWK goalie: Dylan Myskiw.

• Lethbridge goalie: Logan Flodell.

• Shots: 40-39 BWK.

• PP: BWK 1-6. LET 2-5.

• Attendance: 3,710.

• RECAP: The teams traded the first six goals, including one by the Brandonite Addison, who was booed lustily by his home crowd. The difference came in the final three minutes of the second period when Burzan and Mattheos scored to give the Wheat Kings a 5-3 lead, although Morrison’s second goal with five minutes remaining in regulation made the game interesting.

• THEY SAID IT: Lethbridge head coach Brent Kisio — “We have to tighten up defensively, for sure. We came here for a split and that’s still an opportunity tomorrow. We just have to reset. I thought we did some good things. We were right in the game. We just have to find a way to bear down and get it done tomorrow.”

GAME 4

• Lethbridge 7, Brandon 4

• Date: April 11, 2018.

• BWK goal scorers: Marcus Sekundiak, Luka Burzan, Stelio Mattheos, Ty Lewis.

• Lethbridge scorers: Brad Morrison (2), Jake Elmer (2), Dylan Cozens, Zane Franklin, Logan Barlage.

• BWK goalie: Dylan Myskiw.

• Lethbridge goalie: Logan Flodell.

• Shots: 32-27 BWK.

• PP: BWK 0-2. LET 0-2.

• Attendance: 3,244.

• RECAP: If you give up four goals in the first 10 minutes, you don’t win very often. Lethbridge took a commanding lead, but Brandon scored three times in nine minutes in the second period. Was it another Game 2 miracle comeback? Nope. Franklin sniped two minutes after the Wheat Kings pulled within a goal and it was game over.

• THEY SAID IT: Lethbridge head coach Brent Kisio — “It was very important obviously. We had a great start tonight and I thought we had everybody going. … There was a lot of adversity and we took some penalties. We expected them to push and they pushed hard but I really liked our response in the third.”

GAME 5

• Lethbridge 3, Brandon 0

• Date: April 13, 2018.

• BWK goal scorers: None.

• Lethbridge scorers: Brad Morrison (2), Logan Barlage.

• BWK goalie: Dylan Myskiw.

• Lethbridge goalie: Logan Flodell.

• Shots: 32-31 BWK.

• PP: BWK 0-3. LET 1-4.

• Attendance: 5,249.

• RECAP: The two best Hurricanes in the series were Morrison and Flodell, and they teamed up to the end the series. The goaltender made 32 saves for the shout, while Morrison put an exclamation mark on an outstanding series with the winning goal in the first period and an empty netter with six seconds left.

• THEY SAID IT: Brandon head coach David Anning — “I thought we had a good effort. I thought guys were working and we had some sustained pressure in the first period and couldn’t find a way to get the puck into the back of the net. Specialty teams had a factor in the outcome. I thought the second and third we could have used a little bit more sustained pressure and put some shifts together. We did a pretty good job defensively and couldn’t capitalize on our scoring chances.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson