Luka Burzan notched two goals and an assist and seven other Brandon Wheat Kings scored singles in propelling the hockey club to a convincing 9-1 win over the Swift Current Broncos in Saskatchewan on Wednesday night.
With the win the BWK have secured their spot in this Spring's Western Hockey League playoffs after finding themselves on the outside looking in last season.
Who the club will play and whether they will have home ice advantage will come down to what takes place during their remaining nine games between now and March 21’s regular season finale at Westoba Place against the Winnipeg ICE. Currently Brandon sits in second place in the East Division with 70 points, three points behind the first place Prince Albert Raiders and one ahead of third place Winnipeg. Saskatoon owns the final playoff wild card spot with 65 points.
For what it's worth, if the post-season started tomorrow the Wheat Kings and ICE would matchup in an all-Manitoba playoff series. Out of the final nine games, five are played against the aforementioned teams meaning that a lot is left to be decided by head-to-head games.
Despite missing out last year, the playoff appearance will mark a remarkable 18th time over the past 20 years that the club has qualified for the post-season.
The Wheat Kings continue their current road trip in Calgary and Lethbridge this weekend. That will be followed by what promises to be a key home-and-home series with the Raiders beginning in Prince Albert on Friday, March 6th before returning to Brandon the following night.