The Spruce Grove Saints (1-3-0-0) look to get back in the win column as they begin a home-and-home set against the Sherwood Park Crusaders (3-1-0-0) on Friday night at Sherwood Park Arena.
How To Follow:
Listen: FREE Audio Stream
Watch: FloHockey
Breakdown:
Spruce Grove:
Overall Record: 1-3-0-0 (9th in Interior Conference – 17th in BCHL)
Home Record: 0-3-0-0
Road Record: 1-0-0-0
Power Play: 5-for-13 (38.5% – 3rd in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 9-for-11 (81.8% – 9th in BCHL)
Sherwood Park:
Overall Record: 3-1-0-0 (5th in Interior Conference – 8th in BCHL)
Home Record: 2-1-0-0
Road Record: 1-0-0-0
Power Play: 9-for-23 (39.1% – 2nd in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 14-for-16 (87.5% – 5th in BCHL)
Season Series:
Friday, October 4th @ Sherwood Park Arena (7:00 PM)
Saturday, October 5th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (7:00 PM)
Saturday, November 16th @ Sherwood Park Arena (7:00 PM)
Friday, December 20th @ Sherwood Park Arena (7:00 PM)
Saturday, December 21st @ Grant Fuhr Arena (7:00 PM)
Friday, January 10th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (7:00 PM)
Friday, February 14th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (7:00 PM)
Looking Back:
The Saints are looking to rebound after a pair of tough losses on home ice over the weekend, including an 8-2 defeat to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Saturday night at Grant Fuhr Arena. Keifer Miller and Oscar Wu tallied their first goals of the season while Xander Miceli turned aside 27 of the 32 shots thrown his way in a losing effort before Joseph Quinitlio made his BCHL debut for the final 20 mutes of action, making eight saves on 11 shots.
The Crusaders had opposite fortunes of the Saints and took back-to-back games on home ice with victories including their 6-3 triumph over the Trail Smoke Eaters on Saturday at Sherwood Park Arena. Christian Chouha and Jeremy Loranger each tallied a pair of goals while Nicolas Beaudoin and Cooper Sharp added singles in the winning cause. James Venne was excellent in goal for the Crusaders, making 46 saves on 49 shots in his 3rd win of the season.
Saints Leading Scorers:
Josh Polak (2-3-5)
Stephen Kirkpatrick (1-3-4)
Austin Peters (3-0-3)
Colin Doherty (2-1-3)
Keifer Miller (1-1-2)
Crusaders Leading Scorers:
Jeremy Loranger (3-5-8)
Kale Dach (1-6-7)
Poul Anderson (3-3-6)
Nicolas Beaudoin (3-2-5)
Chris Battaini (2-3-5)
Who To Watch For:
Spruce Grove:
- James Richards – Defenceman – Port Williams, Nova Scotia – Niagara University
One of the three new Saints that will be hitting the ice on Friday in Sherwood Park, Richards will look to bring his championship experience from a season ago to help the Spruce Grove blue line. The Niagara University commit played with the Winkler Flyers last season en route to an MJHL Championship and appearance in the Centennial Cup while beginning this season in Winkler with two points in three games.
- Matheson Mason – Forward – Toronto, Ontario – Lake Superior State University
After missing a set of games on home ice last weekend, Mason makes his return to the lineup tonight and is a welcomed addition for a Saints team looking to get on the right side of some early season injury woes. Despite not having struck for a point this season, the LSSU commit brings plenty of energy and tenacity to the ice and will look to make a big impact in tonight’s contest against the Crusaders.
Sherwood Park:
- Jeremy Loranger – Forward – Trois-Rivieres, Quebec – University of Nebraska-Omaha
Off to a blistering start to his BCHL campaign, Loranger has contributed at a two-point-per-game pace to start the season with three goals and eight points in four games, including a two-goal outing on Saturday against the Smoke Eaters. The UNO commit has points in each game this season and has multi-point efforts in each game but one so far in his BCHL career.
- James Venne – Goaltender – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Getting the start in each of his team’s four games this season, Venne has seen a lot of rubber in the early going but has risen to the task in holding a .922 save percentage in turning aside 141 of the 153 shots he has faced. The Saskatoon, SK product has faced the most shots against in the BCHL and is one of six goaltenders to have appeared in each of his teams games so far this season.
The Saints and Crusaders play the first of their seven game season series on Friday night and the first of a home-and-home set. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM at Sherwood Park Arena with the game being broadcasted live on the Saints Radio Network as well as streamed online on FloHockey.
