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Wheat Kings, Pats set for a playoff rematch: WHL Eastern Conference second-round preview

Ivan Provorv's Brandon Wheat Kings take on the Regina Pats in Round 2. (Wheat Kings)
Ivan Provorv's Brandon Wheat Kings take on the Regina Pats in Round 2. (Wheat Kings)

With the top two teams in each division winning their series, Round 1 went as expected in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The script should stay the same in the conference’s second set of matchups, but it’s not near as cut and dry as the previous round.

The Brandon Wheat Kings are set to square off against the Regina Pats for the second straight year. The Wheaties are heavily favoured to take the series again, but it seems unlikely that the Pats will go out four straight like last season.

After ending Sam Reinhart’s junior career, the Calgary Hitmen have a date with the Medicine Hat Tigers. Albeit it’s hard to bet against the red-hot Marek Langhamer, this seems to be Calgary’s series to lose.

All four of the WHL’s second-round series begin today.

East Division

(1) Brandon Wheat Kings (53-11-4-4, 114 pts) vs. (2) Regina Pats (37-24-5-6, 85 pts)

Season series: Wheaties 5-2-1-0. Final Dynamic Dozen rankings: Wheaties 4th, Pats not ranked. Post-trade deadline records: Wheaties 24-2-1-2, Pats 12-10-3-5. Prediction: Wheaties in 6.

Series in a sentence: Wheat Kings look to make history repeat itself against the Pats.

Why the Wheat Kings should win: It’s no coincidence that Brandon won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy this year. They not only have one of the league’s top forwards – Tim McGauley – plus five NHL draft picks, including two first-round picks (Calgary Flames’ Morgan Klimchuk and New Jersey Devils’ John Quenneville) in their offense, but they also have two of the Dub’s top 2015 draft prospects (Ivan Provorov and Ryan Pilon) on their back end.

Jordan Papirny silenced his critics in the first round against his hometown Oil Kings. He ultimately outplayed Pittsburgh Penguins second-rounder Tristan Jarry, posting a 2.01 average and .942 save percentage. Another series like that should book the Wheaties’ ticket to the Eastern Conference finals.

In addition, the Wheat Kings have lost six games since Jan. 10. With all due respect to the Pats, it’s hard to imagine that Brandon will drop four contests in two weeks against a team that was practically a .500 hockey club in the latter half of the season.

How the Pats could win: The Queen City Kids weren’t supposed to finish second in the East Division, continue to win after trading four of their high-end 19-year-olds at the trade deadline and defeat the Swift Current Broncos in four straight in Round 1, so overachieving has been their theme all year long.

A major key to the Pats’ success against the Broncos was their speed. On several occasions, players such as Adam Brooks, Braden Christoffer and Austin Wagner would jump on a loose puck or cause a turnover and go on to create an offensive chance. Partial credit for Regina’s quickness should be credited to head coach-GM John Paddock because how of he rolls all four lines. It has played a part in the Pats seeming not to wear out late in a game.

At the very least, Daniel Wapple will be counted on to match Papirny. The 19-year-old veteran had a strong showing against Swift Current, maintaining a 1.96 average and .933 save percentage, but Brandon will be a whole new ball game.

Central Division

(1) Calgary Hitmen (45-22-1-4, 95 pts) vs. (2) Medicine Hat Tigers (45-23-2-2, 94 pts)

Season series: tie 3-3-0-0. Final Dynamic Dozen rankings: Hitmen 7th, Tigers 19th. Post-trade deadline records: Hitmen 22-7-0-1, Tigers 16-13-1-1. Prediction: Hitmen in 7.

Series in a sentence: Hitmen and Tigers meet in an Alberta brawl.

Why the Hitmen should win: Calgary is a dark horse to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup this year because of their star power, which is led by Vancouver Canucks first-rounder Jake Virtanen, New York Rangers pick Adam Tambellini, overage Connor Rankin and Philadelphia Flyers prized selection Travis Sanheim.

Past their big guns, the Hitmen have great depth throughout their lineup. Minnesota Wild pick Chase Lang, Radel Fazleev, Kenton Helgesen and Pavel Karnaukhov all netted north of 40 points. Jake Bean and Ben Thomas have solidified themselves as solid blueliners who can move the puck up the ice and produce offense.

Calgary showed during the season that when they are on a roll they are as good as anyone in the league. They managed to come out on top of four of their five U.S. road trip games and won nine games in a row in the latter half of the year.

How the Tigers could win: In two words: Marek Langhamer. The Arizona Coyotes draft choice was unbelievable in Round 1 against the Red Deer Rebels, posting a 1.75 average and .945 save percentage in five contests. Moreover, his worst game on paper was a .903 save percentage in the deciding match.

Cole Sanford and Trevor Cox are good second and third seasons for why the Tigers could take the series. The undrafted 19-year-old forwards, who combined for 204 points this year, have clearly solidified themselves as two of the top scorers in the league. They didn’t lift their foots off the gas against the Rebels, notching seven points apiece. The pair will be counted on to exploit Calgary’s shaking goalie situation.

Like Paddock in Regina, Shaun Clouston has a reputation for getting the best out of his squad. He led them to the Eastern Conference finals last year and outcoached Lorne Molleken in back-to-back sweeps over the Saskatoon Blades the previous two seasons.

Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen