The Spruce Grove Saints (12-12-1-0) aim for their fourth consecutive victory as they head south to begin a weekend on the road against the Okotoks Oilers (10-13-0-0) on Friday night at Viking Rentals Centre.
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Breakdown:
Spruce Grove:
Overall Record: 12-12-1-0 (7th in Interior Conference – 14th in BCHL)
Home Record: 5-7-1-0
Road Record: 7-5-0-0
Power Play: 16-for-79 (20.3% – 15th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 71-for-90 (78.9% – 8th in BCHL)
Okotoks:
Overall Record: 10-13-0-0 (9th in Interior Conference – 17th in BCHL)
Home Record: 8-4-0-0
Road Record: 2-9-0-0
Power Play: 8-for-83 (9.6% – 21st in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 63-for-86 (73.3% – 20th in BCHL)
Season Series:
Friday, December 6th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (7-3 Saints) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, December 13th @ Viking Rentals Centre (7:00 PM)
Tuesday, January 14th @ Viking Rentals Centre (11:30 AM)
Saturday, February 8th @ Viking Rentals Centre (7:00 PM)
Sunday, February 23rd @ Grant Fuhr Arena (2:30 PM)
Friday, March 7th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (7:00 PM)
Looking Back:
The Saints open a weekend away from home following a 6-5 overtime victory over the Blackfalds Bulldogs on Saturday night at Eagle Builders Centre. Ethan Kronewitt, Teo Pisani, Max Seguin, Josh Polak, James Richards scored in regulation before Austin Peters won the game in overtime to give the Saints their third straight win. Xander Miceli turned aside 26 of the 31 shots thrown his way in earning his 7th win of the season.
Okotoks comes into Friday night after a come-from-behind victory over the Trail Smoke Eaters by a 4-2 score on Saturday night at Viking Rentals Centre. Otto Hanson, Hunter Sawka, Brock Souch and Jackson Rowland each found the back of the net in the winning cause while Olivier Ciarlo made 32 saves on 34 shots in collecting his 10th win of the season.
Saints Leading Scorers:
Josh Polak (12-12-24)
Keifer Miller (6-15-21)
Ryan Johnstone (10-7-17)
Austin Peters (6-11-17)
Max Seguin (6-8-14)
Oilers Leading Scorers:
Brett Wilson (7-12-19)
Jackson Rowland (8-5-13)
Jamie Hikida (6-6-12)
Hunter Sawka (4-8-12)
Jacob Goudreau (6-5-11)
Who’s Hot:
Spruce Grove:
- Josh Polak – Forward – Strathcona County, Alberta – University of Minnesota-Duluth
It was a big week for the rookie forward as Polak landed his commitment to play with Minnesota-Duluth following his junior hockey career. The Strathcona County, AB native has enjoyed a terrific rookie campaign in the league, scoring 12 goals and 24 points in 25 games this season as well as notching markers in back-to-back contests.
- Keifer Miller – Forward – Banff, Alberta – College of the Holy Cross
Named the BCHL’s Third Star of the Week following a five-assist weekend in a pair of Saints wins, Miller has been on a strong stretch of offensive play dating back to late November. The Holy Cross commit posted three assists in the Saints win over the Bulldogs on Saturday and has produced multi-point efforts in four of his last six games.
Okotoks:
- Hunter Sawka – Forward – Western Michigan University
Goals in back-to-back games gave Sawka a good weekend following earning just a point over an eight game stretch before that. The Western Michigan commit earned a goal in the game against Spruce Grove last Friday before earning a goal and two assists for a three-point night in the triumph over the Smoke Eaters on Saturday.
- Cyle Clayton – Strathmore, Alberta – University of Alaska-Fairbanks
After playing four seasons with the Drumheller Dragons, Clayton made his way to the Oilers to finish his junior hockey career and has garnered eight assists so far in his 23 games played but also plays a big role defensively for the group. A commit of Alaska-Fairbanks, Clayton registered a pair of assists in the win on Saturday and has four helpers in his last four games.
The Saints and Warriors play the second of their four-game season series tonight at Royal LePage Place in West Kelowna with an 8:00 PM MST puck drop. Fans can catch the game broadcasted live on the Saints Radio Network as well as streamed live on FloHockey.
