The Spruce Grove Saints (11-12-1-0) head out for the beginning of a four-game stretch away from home and look for their third consecutive win as they take on the Blackfalds Bulldogs (2-21-0-0) on Saturday night at Eagle Builders Centre.
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Breakdown:
Spruce Grove:
Overall Record: 11-12-1-0 (8th in Interior Conference – 15th in BCHL)
Home Record: 5-7-1-0
Road Record: 6-5-0-0
Power Play: 17-for-76 (19.7% – 16th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 60-for-87 (80.5% – 6th in BCHL)
Blackfalds:
Overall Record: 2-21-0-0 (11th in Interior Conference – 21st in BCHL)
Home Record: 1-12-0-0
Road Record: 1-9-0-0
Power Play: 12-for-85 (14.1% – 20th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 62-for-81 (76.5% – 16th in BCHL)
Season Series:
Saturday, September 21st @ Eagle Builders Centre (7-2 Saints) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, October 25th @ Eagle Builders Centre (4-3 Saints) (BOXSCORE)
Wednesday, November 20th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (6-4 Saints) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, December 7th @ Eagle Builders Centre (6:00 PM)
Saturday, March 8th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (7:00 PM)
Saturday, March 29th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (7:00 PM)
Looking Back:
Spruce Grove looks for their third consecutive win following a 7-3 triumph over the Okotoks Oilers on Friday night at Grant Fuhr Arena. Cole Kronewitt tallied a pair of goals in the game while Adam Perron, Josh Polak, Colin Doherty, Adam Lang and Ryan Johnstone added singles in the winning effort. Ryan De Kok earned his 5th win of the season in making 26 saves on 29 shots in between the pipes.
The Bulldogs come into Saturday looking to break a lengthy losing skid of 11 consecutive games and have not won since October 26 and dropped an 11-0 score to the Trail Smoke Eaters on Friday night at Eagle Builders Centre. The blanking was the second time this season that Blackfalds has suffered this season while Waylon Esche started the game, making 21 saves on 27 shots in his 14th loss of the season while Dylan Adams turned aside 10 of the 15 shots he faced in relief.
Saints Leading Scorers:
Josh Polak (11-11-22)
Keifer Miller (6-12-18)
Ryan Johnstone (10-7-17)
Austin Peters (5-11-16)
Max Seguin (5-7-12)
Bulldogs Leading Scorers:
Joey Melo (6-6-12)
Matthew Croxall (6-6-12)
Jack McAra (2-9-11)
Jayden Joly (3-7-10)
Tyler Chiovetti (3-6-9)
Who’s Hot:
Spruce Grove:
- Cole Kronewitt – Forward – Stony Plain, Alberta
After earning his first career BCHL goal last Saturday in West Kelowna, Kronewitt one uped that mark on Friday night at home as he posted a pair of goals and an assist for a three-point effort in the Saints victory over the Oilers. The Stony Plain native has seen a lot of success playing on a line with his big brother Ethan and Stephen Kirkpatrick, as the three combined for seven points all together in the win on Friday.
- Keifer Miller – Forward – Banff, Alberta – College of the Holy Cross
Two assists helped Miller to 18 points on the season in the Saints victory on Friday night and the Spruce Grove forward has enjoyed plenty of success against the Bulldogs this season. The Banff native has earned three goals and three assists for six points in three games against Blackfalds this season including a three-point effort in Spruce Grove’s last contest against the Bulldogs on November 20th.
Blackfalds:
- Penalty Killing Success
Things have just not gone the Bulldogs way over the course of the season but one thing that has trended upward for the group that looks to break an 11-game losing skid on Saturday has been their penalty kill, which has not surrendered a goal in each of its last four games. Blackfalds has gone a perfect 10-for-10 in that span, last giving up a goal on the PK against the Saints in that November 20th matchup and did not take a penalty a night ago against the Smoke Eaters.
- Matthew Croxall – Forward – Chicago, Illinois – College of the Holy Cross
Another Holy Cross commit, Croxall, will look to bring the offensive success he had while in Sherwood Park earlier this season to his new squad in Blackfalds. The Chicago, IL native has played in three games with the Bulldogs since being acquired by the club in late November, posting a goal in that span after having 11 points in 17 games with the Crusaders before the trade.
The Saints and Bulldogs meet for the fourth of six times on the season tonight in Blackfalds. Puck drop is slated for 6:00 PM with the game broadcasted live on the Saints Radio Network as well as streamed online on FloHockey.
