The early season volatility in the SportsCage’s Western Hockey League Eastern Conference Power Rankings was taken to new heights in Week 5, beginning at the very top of the standings.
For the first time this season, there’s a new leader, as the Brandon Wheat Kings rose two spots into first place overall. That’s in no small part to their wildly successful B.C. road swing that saw the Wheaties reel off five straight victories, including a 7-4 win over Penticton and 3-2 overtime victory over Kelowna this past weekend to close out the stretch.
As a result, the Wheat Kings now have a 7-2-0-0 record and sit alone atop the Eastern Conference standings.
The Red Deer Rebels (6-2-0-1) also continued their hot start and have won four in a row to move up a couple of spots into second place, while the leader since the start of the season, the Medicine Hat Tigers (4-2-0-1) ran into some tough times last week with a couple of losses and dropped two spots into third.
After taking a hard fall last week, the Saskatoon Blades (4-2-1-0) took an equally as fast rise this time around, jumping five spots all the way into fourth place. That’s thanks to back-to-back wins over East Division opponents, as they downed Moose Jaw 7-4 and Regina 5-2 this past weekend. A major part of Saskatoon’s success has been their offence, as they’ve scored the most goals per game of any team in the WHL at 32 through seven games.
Rounding out the top five are the Calgary Hitmen (4-3-0-0), who also have hit hard times after a perfect start, losing their last three games and falling three spots in the rankings. That includes an 8-2 loss to Red Deer and 5-2 loss to Victoria in their most recent outings.
All of the remainder of Saskatchewan’s teams dropped in the rankings, as the Swift Current Broncos (5-4-0-0) fell two spots to sixth, the Regina Pats (3-3-0-1) lost one spot into seventh, the Moose Jaw Warriors (3-3-0-0) fell two places to 10th and the Prince Albert Raiders (2-6-0-1) lost one spot and are now in 11th.
The Eastern Conference Power Rankings are compiled each week by a group of longtime WHL observers, taking into account recent play as well as the current standings. You can find them every Wednesday afternoon on SportsCage.com.
1 – Brandon +2
2 – Red Deer +2
3 – Medicine Hat -2
4 – Saskatoon +5
5 – Calgary -3
6 – Swift Current -2
7 – Regina -1
8 – Edmonton -1
9 – Lethbridge +2
10 – Moose Jaw -2
11 – Prince Albert -1
