Brandon has rebounded from 0-2, just not often
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/04/2025 (447 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
While prevailing hockey wisdom suggests that you aren’t in desperate trouble in a playoff series until you lose at home, it’s not exactly ideal.
In National Hockey League history, just five teams have rebounded from a 2-0 deficit to hoist the Stanley Cup since the league went to a best-of-seven format.
It’s the situation the Brandon Wheat Kings find themselves in as they prepare for Game 3 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series tonight in Virden.
Brandon Wheat Kings forward Reid Duke collides with the net behind Edmonton Oil Kings goaltender Payton Lee during Game 2 of their Western Hockey League quarterfinal series in Brandon on March 25, 2016. That must have been how the Wheat Kings all felt after they lost the first two games at home, but they roared back to win the next four games and the series. (Brandon Sun file photo)
In the Western Hockey League, the Wheat Kings have found themselves in similar straits many times over the years. Here’s a look at what happened on the last 10 occasions.
2024
Conference quarterfinal
Moose Jaw Warriors
FIRST TWO LOSSES: 7-4 and 5-4 (OT) in Moose Jaw.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT: The series returned to Westoba Place for more of the same, with the Warriors earning a sweep with 6-4 and 6-2 victories in their first step to winning the league championship
2018
Conference quarterfinal
Medicine Hat Tigers
FIRST TWO LOSSES: 7-2 and 7-3 in Medicine Hat.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT: Brandon swept Games 3 and 4 in Dauphin, 5-3 and 5-2 and the series was square. Brandon then took the lead with a 5-2 win in Alberta, and closed the series out when Linden McCorrister sniped 10:37 in overtime for a 4-3 victory.
2018
Conference semifinal
Lethbridge Hurricanes
FIRST TWO LOSSES: 5-1 and 5-4 (OT) in Lethbridge.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT: The Wheat Kings won 5-4 in Game 3 in Brandon but the Hurricanes responded with 7-4 and 3-0 wins to close out the series.
2017
Conference quarterfinal
Medicine Hat Tigers
FIRST TWO LOSSES: 7-2 and 5-3 in Medicine Hat.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT: The defending champion Wheat Kings, who were playing without the injured Nolan Patrick, went out in straight games with 6-2 and 3-2 losses in Dauphin.
2016
Conference quarterfinal
Edmonton Oil Kings
FIRST TWO LOSSES: 4-2 and 2-1 in Brandon.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT: The bandwagon was leaking fans after the first-place Wheat Kings dropped two to the eighth-place Oil Kings at home and were heading to Edmonton for the next three games. But Brandon got back on track in Alberta, winning 3-1, 5-0 and 5-2, and then closed out the series with a 10-3 thumping back in Brandon.
2015
League final
Kelowna Rockets
FIRST TWO LOSSES: 4-3 and 5-3 in Brandon.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT: The Wheat Kings never got on track against the Leon Draisaitl and Josh Morrissey-led Rockets, getting swept away with 5-3 and 3-0 losses in Kelowna in Games 3 and 4.
2014
Conference semifinal
Edmonton Oil Kings
FIRST TWO LOSSES: 5-0 and 3-0 in Edmonton.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT: After the Oil Kings won 5-2 in Game 3 to go up 3-0, the Wheat Kings extended the series with an identical 5-2 decision in Game 4. But the Oil Kings clinched with a 5-1 victory back in Edmonton.
2012
Conference semifinal
Edmonton Oil Kings
FIRST TWO LOSSES: 2-1 and 4-3 in Edmonton.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT: After a pair of close losses in Alberta, the Wheat Kings were blown out of their own building — and the series — with 5-1 and 6-0 defeats in Games 3 and 4.
2009
Conference final
Calgary Hitmen
FIRST TWO LOSSES: 9-3 and 5-4 in Calgary.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT: The Wheat Kings’ chance to claw back into the series evaporated with an overtime goal by Ian Schultz in a 4-3 Hitmen victory in Brandon, and the series ended with a 6-4 Calgary win in Game 4.
2008
Conference quarterfinal
Lethbridge Hurricanes
FIRST TWO LOSSES: 2-1 and 4-3 in Lethbridge.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT: The teams returned to Brandon for the next three, with the Hurricanes taking a commanding 3-0 lead with a 4-3 victory in Game 3. But Brandon responded with 5-1 and 4-3 (OT) wins to send the series back to Alberta, where Lethbridge posted a 4-0 shutout to win in six games.