Brandon Wheat Kings Win 2016 WHL Championship Series
Seattle, WA – The Brandon Wheat Kings claimed the Ed Chynoweth Cup on Friday night in Kent, Washington to become the 50th WHL Champions after earning an 8-4 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The Wheat Kings defeated the WHL Western Conference Champion Thunderbirds in the 2016 WHL Championship Series presented by Rogers in five games.
The win marks the third time in franchise history that Brandon has won the Ed Chynoweth Cup (1979, 1996, 2016) in its eighth appearance. All three championship-clinching victories have come on American soil (1979 at Portland, 1996 at Spokane). The Wheat Kings were runners-up to the Kelowna Rockets one season ago, falling in four games in the 2015 WHL Championship Series.
Brandon will now represent the WHL alongside the host Red Deer Rebels at the 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Red Deer, AB which is set to begin next Friday. The Wheat Kings will look for the franchise’s first MasterCard Memorial Cup title as the province of Alberta hosts the national championship for the first time in 42 years.
Nolan Patrick (Winnipeg, MB) was named the 2016 WHL Playoffs Most Valuable Player following the game after leading all players in the post-season with 30 points (13g-17a) in 21 games to go along with a plus-19 rating. Patrick, a 1998-born forward eligible for the 2017 NHL Draft, recorded the game-winning goal and two assists on Friday night. Throughout the 2016 WHL Playoffs, Patrick notched four game-winners.
The Wheat Kings will begin play at the 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup on Saturday, May 21st as they face off against the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Champions, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. The host Red Deer Rebels will kick off the event one night earlier when they welcome the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League.
For more information on the 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Red Deer, AB, please visit www.mastercardmemorialcup.ca. All games during the MasterCard Memorial Cup will be televised nationally on Sportsnet.
