The Spruce Grove Saints (1-2-0-0) remain on home ice to see another BC team as they host the Salmon Arm Silverbacks (1-1-1-0) on Saturday night at Grant Fuhr Arena.
How To Follow:
Tickets: bit.ly/TIXSASEPT28
Listen: FREE Audio Stream
Watch: FloHockey
Breakdown:
Spruce Grove:
Overall Record: 1-2-0-0 (8th in Interior Conference – 14th in BCHL)
Home Record: 0-2-0-0
Road Record: 1-0-0-0
Power Play: 4-for-12 (33.3% – 6th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 8-for-8 (100% – T-1st in BCHL)
Salmon Arm:
Overall Record: 1-1-1-0 (6th in Interior Conference – 12th in BCHL)
Home Record: 0-0-0-0
Road Record: 1-1-1-0
Power Play: 1-for-13 (7.7% – 18th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 8-for-10 (80.0% – 11th in BCHL)
Season Series:
Saturday, September 28th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (7:00 PM)
Friday, November 15th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (7:00 PM)
Friday, November 30th @ Rogers Rink (8:00 PM)
Saturday, March 15th @ Rogers Rink (7:00 PM)
Looking Back:
The Saints will look to rebound following a 7-2 loss to the Trail Smoke Eaters on Friday night at Grant Fuhr Arena as Colin Doherty and Ethan Kronewitt each found the back of the net in a losing cause for the Saints. Ryan De Kok began the game, making 9 saves on 13 shots and taking his 2nd loss of the season before Xander Miceli came on and turned aside 17 of the 20 shots thrown his way in relief.
Salmon Arm will look to close out their Alberta road trip on a positive note after taking a 4-1 loss to the Sherwood Park Crusaders on Friday night at Randy Rosen Rink. Payton Nelson scored the lone tally for the ‘Backs while Andrew Ballantyne turned aside 34 of the 38 shots he faced in his 1st loss of the season.
Saints Leading Scorers:
Josh Polak (2-3-5)
Austin Peters (3-0-3)
Colin Doherty (2-1-3)
Ryan Johnstone (1-1-2)
Stephen Kirkpatrick (1-1-2)
Silverbacks Leading Scorers:
Patrick Raftery (1-3-4)
Aidan Willis (0-3-3)
Payton Nelson (2-0-2)
Ryan Philbrick (1-1-2)
Liam Beamish (1-0-1)
Who To Watch For:
Spruce Grove:
- Ethan Kronewitt – Forward – Stony Plain, AB
Tallying his first goal of the season on Friday night in the loss to the Smoke Eaters, Kronewitt will look to use that as confidence moving forward into action on the following night against the Silverbacks. The Stony Plain, AB native is a veteran of over 140+ games and brings a wealth of experience to the Saints front line attack.
- Getting Going At Home
Despite a close game in their home opener against Penticton last week, the Saints fell short Friday against the Smoke Eaters and are still searching for their first win on home ice this season. Spruce Grove went 18-13-2-0 on home ice last season split between the AJHL and BCHL and will try to get their momentum at Grant Fuhr Arena going on Saturday against Salmon Arm.
Salmon Arm:
- Patrick Raftery – Forward – Centennial, Colorado – University of Maine
After collecting 10 points in 15 games as a late addition to the Silverbacks roster last season, Raftery has been the most consistent piece of the ‘Backs offensive game this season in leading the team with 4 points in his opening 3 games. The University of Maine commit came out on fire with a big performance last Friday in a season opening win over the Cowichan Valley Capitals last Friday where he posted a goal and two assists for a three-point night.
- Ryan Grout – Goaltender – Sturgeon County, Alberta – University of New Hampshire
All signs would point to Grout getting the nod in his home province tonight and the second year Silverback is looking to replicate what was a terrific opening season in the BCHL. The 17-year-old UNH commit went 11-3 with a 2.23 goals against average and a .926 save percentage with one shutout last season as a 16-year-old and is coming off of making 19 saves on 22 shots in a overtime loss to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs last Saturday.
The Saints and Silverbacks meet for the first time this season on Saturday night in Spruce Grove and the first of four matchups with puck drop slated for 7:00 PM at Grant Fuhr Arena. Tickets can be purchased online at tickets.sprucegrovesaints.ca.
