By James Shewaga /

Calculating the value of Keith Aulie and Colby Robak to the Brandon Wheat Kings has become a simple equation.

All those pluses in the plus-minus category have added up to a whole lot of wins for the Wheat Kings in the second half of the Western Hockey League season and the playoffs.

In fact, through eight straight playoff victories in back-to-back series sweeps of the Kootenay Ice and the Medicine Hat Tigers, Robak (plus-19) and Aulie (plus-17) were the top two plus-minus performers among all players in the post-season, providing Brandon with a blueline tandem as good as any in the playoffs.

Paired up as defensive duo full-time in the second half of the season, the 6-3, 207-pound Robak and the 6-6, 222-pound Aulie have been the backbone of the Brandon blueline and a big reason why the Wheat Kings have advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference championship final against the ·Calgary Hitmen.

“The first few months, we were kind of all over the place, seeing who was going to be good with who,” said Aulie, the Wheat Kings’ 19-year-old captain, who has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Calgary Flames.

“But I think we’ve always known that we complement each other well.”

Indeed. Since returning from the world junior hockey championship where he helped Canada capture gold, Aulie has scored five goals and piled up 22 points with a solid plus-32 plus/minus rating in 34 games heading into the conference final.

Robak’s numbers are even more impressive. Since January 1, the 18-year-old defenceman has been an impressive plus-41 in 42 games while firing 12 goals and compiling 35 points, including a career-high three-goal, five-point performance in Brandon’s 6-2 series-clinching victory over Medicine Hat in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

For Robak, who has always been a gifted offensive player, improving his defensive play was his primary focus this season.

“I finished last year minus seven (in plus/minus) and it was my goal coming into this year to be a plus player and worry about that part of the game,” said Robak, a 2008 second-round NHL draft pick (46th overall) of the Florida Panthers.

Aulie’s confidence soared after returning from the world juniors, while Robak stepped up during Aulie’s one-month absence to assume a bigger role.

“I think it was really good for him to be the guy that logs that many minutes and to get that much exposure,” said Aulie. “And when I came back he had a ton of confidence and it was awesome just to step in there and play with him.”

SCORING PUNCH

As of April 13, the Wheat Kings had six players in the top 20 of scoring including Brayden Schenn (fifth) and Scott Glennie (seventh).

Glennie, a Winnipeg, Manitoba-native, had just one point in six playoff games last season. This year, he already has 15 points through his first eight games and is a plus-10.

The other Brandon players were Matt Calvert, Jay Fehr, Andrew Clark, and Colby Robak.