Brandon vs Medicine Hat

[Joe Hallenback]

Brandon vs Medicine Hat

Game 1 Friday in Medicine Hat

Keys to the series for Brandon

- Goaltending. They need solid goaltending from one of the guys. If they can get that they can upset the Tigers.
- Stay out of the penalty box. Got to keep this series 5 on 5 as much as possible and not let Vey and Etem room to get out on the powerplay and burn us.
- Score first. I think if we put the pressure on early we can get the Tigers to open up and that will play into our hands.
- Scoring from 3 lines. If all 3 lines keep scoring at the same rate as they did to finish the season we will be very tough to beat.
-Young D hold up. Keep playing simple and get the puck to your speedy forwards.

[WHEATMAN]

Brandon vs Medicine Hat

Game 1 Friday in Medicine Hat

Keys to the series for Brandon

- Goaltending. They need solid goaltending from one of the guys. If they can get that they can upset the Tigers.
- Stay out of the penalty box. Got to keep this series 5 on 5 as much as possible and not let Vey and Etem room to get out on the powerplay and burn us.
- Score first. I think if we put the pressure on early we can get the Tigers to open up and that will play into our hands.
- Scoring from 3 lines. If all 3 lines keep scoring at the same rate as they did to finish the season we will be very tough to beat.
-Young D hold up. Keep playing simple and get the puck to your speedy forwards.

Can't disagree with that. Who does everyone figure gets the start on friday? Gotta figure Kelly goes with Boes...

Wheaties in 6, I hope.

[Richie69]

Can't disagree with that. Who does everyone figure gets the start on friday? Gotta figure Kelly goes with Boes...

Wheaties in 6, I hope.

The Tigers can kill you in a lot of ways, and the first posters have mentioned most of them. Last year, both Vey and especially Etem were LOUSY defensively, but not anymore. As was the case under Willie Desjardins, the team is always relentless on the forecheck. You GOTTA hit them EVERY time they touch the puck along the boards, or they are gonna go around you to the net. Even their fourth line players get the puck and head STRAIGHT for the net. They are NOT afraid to run the goalie either.

I think that the Tigers' biggest exploitable weakness is what many hockey experts believe to be their strength; Tyler Bunz. He is big, and he is slow. It is his team that has made him look good this entire year playing strong defensively. He loves to play the puck, and he is lousy at it. Forecheck when he is out of the net, make ONE pass, and you will find easy goals and the second round in five games or less. I have a feeling that the Wheat Kings are going to expose Tyler Bunz in this series big time!

(Just hope Devin Klein is NOT reffing any of the games; otherwise the homer will hand it to the Tigers)

[Jimbo24]

Wheaties in 6

[longtimejrfan]

Don't agree with your complete assessment of Bunz. I will agree with your comment on his puck handling because he does it to much and at times makes poor decisions. You're totally wrong on the rest of your statement though. His save % was second in the league behind Kuemper from Red Deer. If anything the Tigers weak spot is there d where they sometimes have problems clearing the zone and can get hemmed in for long periods of time.

[Richie69]

Don't agree with your complete assessment of Bunz. I will agree with your comment on his puck handling because he does it to much and at times makes poor decisions. You're totally wrong on the rest of your statement though. His save % was second in the league behind Kuemper from Red Deer. If anything the Tigers weak spot is there d where they sometimes have problems clearing the zone and can get hemmed in for long periods of time.

Agree to disagree, as they say. Its just my opinion, of course. In fact, I think that I am the ONLY WHL fan who has this assessment of him.

I may be wrong, we will soon see how far the Tigers get with him in net. Brandon has their OWN goaltending problems to deal with. If they spend more than about 8 minutes in the box each game, they will have a lot of trouble with Vey, Etem, et al. I expect some HIGH scoring finals in this series.

I only know what I have seen while sitting in my seat in Lethbridge, which is a VERY good and FAST Medicine Hat TEAM that keeps opponents shots to the outside, and a team that is VERY effective at gumming up opponents and sticks who get close enough to make a play on any rebounds. They just don't give up many good scoring chances. I think that ANY WHL goalie gets the same result in net for the Tigers this year.


Bunz did nothing special playing against Lethbridge this year other than giving the hapless Canes some excellent scoring chances when he played.

Opening night IN THE HAT, BUNZ gave up 3 goals on 19 shots (LOSS) while the Canes' Tait allowed only 1 on 38 shots (Vey and Etem WERE in the lineup). Bunz had ONLY 3 shutouts all year in 50+ starts (vs Dubyk's 2 in 19).

I don't think save % tells the true story on Bunz. Put him on the Canes roster this year, and I am pretty sure Bunz is at the bottom of the league's GAA right alongside of the Canes' Anderson.

I didn't see the Tigers team on the "receiving" end of many of the WHL's PLAYS OF THE WEEK this year, and I didn't see BUNZ making ANY saves that made the highlight reel either. More evidence of strong TEAM game.

Bunz. 4 goals on 21 shots against SWIFT CURRENT (Jan 7 LOSS)
Bunz. 5 goals on 22 shots against Red Deer (Jan 21 LOSS)
Bunz/Dubyk. 3 goals EACH 21/22 shots apiece in Brandon (Feb 11 LOSS)

Guess what TIGERS goalie had TWO consecutive shut-outs to be voted CHL Goalie-of-the-week this week?

(HINT: NOT TYLER BUNZ. HE WAS NOT GIVEN THE HONOR ALL YEAR!)

DEVEN DUBYK....

I think he is just as good as Bunz, and he is also playing in front of the freakin relentless Tigers. Dubyk's accolade was earned in the week where the Tigers played against the Hitmen twice, but he still stopped 27 then 40 shots to earn the honor.

BUNZ had THREE starts against the HITMEN.... ZERO SHUTOUTS.

Not much to choose from in save % either, between the two Tiger tenders; both over .900

Kuemper is in a different league. Not so many unnecessary moving parts. He plays much better positionally than Bunz, he is much faster, and he plays the puck MUCH better. The Rebels scored fewer goals than SIXTH place Brandon this year. I bet the Rebels end up in about six place without Kuemper, while Kuemper probably gets the HITMEN into the playoffs if he played 60 games on their team.

Know who else I think is better than Bunz? Gore from Chilliwack, Priestner from PG, Owsley from Tri-city, even Friesen from SWIFT CURRENT. BUNZ is just OK. I played goal in minor hockey for a few years, so I am not completely (only nearly) clueless when it comes to assessing prowess in the position (I HATED getting tackled all the time).

If Bunz played in Swift Current for the past three years, you and I don't even know his name (Just some more egregious drivel for WHL fans to disagree with).

[Joe Hallenback]

I think Bunz is the 2nd best goalie in the WHL right now. Last year he was fantastic against the Wheaties when we were really shelling them a few nights. He has alot of problems and isn't the most technical guy but his reflexes are pretty top notch. It seems his positonal play this year has improved and that is probably due to instruction from being an Oiler draft pick

Not sure why you hate on Bunz maybe you are related to Dubnyk?

[Jimbo24]

Anybody know if there is a bus going to the games in Winnipeg?

[sbtatter]

Let's be honest, we're not your typical 6th place team, but, at the same time we're playing a 100 point team, so, any wins we get will be gravey!!

[Richie69]

I think Bunz is the 2nd best goalie in the WHL right now. Last year he was fantastic against the Wheaties when we were really shelling them a few nights. He has alot of problems and isn't the most technical guy but his reflexes are pretty top notch. It seems his positonal play this year has improved and that is probably due to instruction from being an Oiler draft pick

Not sure why you hate on Bunz maybe you are related to Dubnyk?

(I think Bunz has improved a lot this year, too, but not sure that the OILERS have had anything to do with his personal success, other than telling him "you get better, 'cause we suck")

2nd best in the league, wow?! He did put on a good performance for you. His numbers are right there, so sure, good opinion.

I don't Hate Bunz; never met him. I just think he is over-rated FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN and how the Lethbridge media (and sidekicks) go on and on and on about him. Pretty clear in my points as to why I don't think he is that great.

No, I am not related to one of the goalies for the Edmonton Oilers; how did HE get into this discussion?? (Never met Tigers' Deven Dubyk either).

(Its Deven DUBYK 2nd goalie (until Friday?) with the Tigers... not former Kamloops Blazer, Devan Dubnyk)

Like I said, the Tiger TEAM just works so hard; I think that ANY goalie would have taken them to third place this year; including our Brandon Anderson, who unfortunately, couldn't get the Canes INTO the playoffs all by himself.

I am definitely cheering for the Wheaties in this one, though. Unless Brandon allows a lot of powerplay goals, they have an excellent chance at 6 beats 3!