The Spruce Grove Saints (18-28-6-0) head south and need a win to extend their playoff hopes as they take on the Brooks Bandits (39-10-2-1) on Friday night at Centennial Regional Arena.
How To Follow:
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Watch: FloHockey
Breakdown:
Spruce Grove:
Overall Record: 18-28-6-0 (9th in Interior Conference – 18th in BCHL)
Home Record: 9-13-4-0
Road Record: 9-15-2-0
Power Play: 30-for-180 (16.7% – 19th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 153-for-202 (74.8% – 18th in BCHL)
Brooks:
Overall Record: 39-10-1-2 (2nd in Interior Conference – 2nd in BCHL)
Home Record: 20-5-0-1
Road Record: 19-5-1-1
Power Play: 59-for-246 (24.0% – 5th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 189-for-205 (87.3% – 1st in BCHL)
Season Series:
Friday, October 11th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (3-1 Bandits) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, November 9th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (7-3 Brooks) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, January 25th @ Centennial Regional Arena (5-2 Bandits) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, February 7th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (4-1 Bandits) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, March 28th @ Centennial Regional Arena (7:00 PM)
Looking Back:
The Saints need a big effort this weekend in collecting wins in back-to-back games following a 3-1 loss to the Langley Rivermen on Saturday night at Grant Fuhr Arena. Marko Djordjevic scored the lone goal in the game for the Saints while Bodee Weiss turned aside 19 of the 21 shots thrown his way in his 13th loss of the season.
Brooks will look to extend their winning streak to six games after they earned a 4-1 victory over the Cranbrook Bucks in the East Kootenays at Western Financial Place last week. Caden Drury, Luke Bibby, AJ Lacroix and Jace Letourneau each found the back of the net while Chris Quizi turned aside 27 of the 28 shots thrown his way in his 9th win of the season.
Saints Leading Scorers:
Josh Polak (19-17-36)
Austin Peters (10-24-34)
Stephen Kirkpatrick (9-21-30)
Ryan Johnstone (14-15-29)
Max Seguin (11-16-27)
Bandits Leading Scorers:
Nathan Free (30-35-65)
Parker Lalonde (32-29-61)
Ethan Beyer (10-36-46)
Nick Peluso (18-27-45)
Luke Bibby (17-17-34)
Who To Watch For:
Spruce Grove:
- The Veterans
Plain and simple, the Saints need wins and will need to win each of their final two games to extend their chances at a berth in the postseason. Spruce Grove will also need Okotoks to lose their final two games of the season on Saturday and Sunday, both in regulation, in order to get into the playoffs. So the first of a four part journey begins tonight in Brooks and the Saints will need a big effort from all their players but especially the veterans and 20-year-olds. If a push to the playoffs is going to happen, it will start there.
Brooks:
- Luke Bibby – Forward – Brantford, Ontario
Bibby’s second stint with the Bandits has been a strong one as the 20-year-old forward has posted 15 points in 13 games in Brooks and has had just three games since being acquired from the Vernon Vipers in February that he has not collected a point in. The Brantford, Ontario native has goals in back-to-back games coming into Friday night including three goals in two games in that stretch.
The Saints and Bandits play their fifth and final game of their season series on Friday night at Centennial Regional Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM in Brooks with the game being broadcasted live on the Saints Radio Network as well as streamed on FloHockey.
