5 hours Ago By Brandon Sun
The three-time defending champion Brandon Wheat Kings needed a victory on Saturday against the Southwest Cougars to guarantee they were advancing to the semifinals of the U15 AAA Winnipeg Hockey League playoffs, but they didn’t get it. Read this article for free: Already have an account? As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support.
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Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! The three-time defending champion Brandon Wheat Kings needed a victory on Saturday against the Southwest Cougars to guarantee they were advancing to the semifinals of the U15 AAA Winnipeg Hockey League playoffs, but they didn’t get it. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? The three-time defending champion Brandon Wheat Kings needed a victory on Saturday against the Southwest Cougars to guarantee they were advancing to the semifinals of the U15 AAA Winnipeg Hockey League playoffs, but they didn’t get it. Instead of playing in a traditional playoff series, Hockey Winnipeg has made the decision to adopt Hockey Canada’s playoff format where the top eight teams are divided into two pools of four teams and then play a six-game, double round-robin, with the top two teams on each side advancing to the semifinals.
In Game 6 on Saturday, Zayden McKay and Liam Magwood opened the scoring for Southwest but Nash Lenton and Mason Woychyshyn scored for Brandon to tie. But the Cougars got goals from Sylas Sicinski and Jaxson Cullen to go up 4-2 eight minutes into the third period, and received empty-netters from Coleton Koop and Sicinski for a 6-2 win. Cooper Dryden made 31 saves for Brandon, with Liam Banga stopping 29 shots for Southwest.
With the victory, Southwest (3-3-0) leapfrogged Brandon (2-3-0-1) and will advance to the league semifinals with Winnipeg Bruins Gold, Winnipeg Bruins Black and the Eastman Selects. In Game 5 against the Pembina Valley Hawks at Carman Dufferin Arena on Thursday, Ethan Chen, Vaughn Mcleod and Brayden Watt gave Brandon a 3-0 lead but Pembina Valley scored the final five goals in a 5-3 Hawks win. Caden McMahon had two goals and an assist for the Hawks.
Dryden made 34 saves for Brandon, with Pembina Valley’s Alex Jones stopping 33 shots. In Game 4 against Bruins Gold at J&G Homes Arena on Tuesday, Crewe Schimnowski scored 6:40 into double overtime as Winnipeg earned a 3-2 victory. Etienne Visser and Brayden Watt gave Brandon 1-0 and 2-1 leads but Owen Murray tied the game with 6:37 left in regulation.
Cooper Dryden made 49 saves for Brandon, with Winnipeg’s Carter Krahn stopping 28 shots. In the three earlier round-robin games, Brandon lost 4-2 to Winnipeg, beat Pembina Valley 5-1 and topped Southwest 7-2. In the regular season, Brandon (25-6-1) was first in the West Division while Pembina Valley (21-7-4) was second and Southwest (15-14-3) was third.
Bruins Gold (32-0-0) was first in the Central Division. » The Brandon Sun Advertisement.
