The Waywayseecappo Wolverines will push for their sixth straight win on Saturday night when the team concludes their two-game road trip in Swan River against the Stampeders.
Winners in eight of their last nine, the Wolverines rolled over the OCN Blizzard 4-0 on Friday night in The Pas to pick up their fifth straight win and move four points ahead of the Winkler Flyers for eighth place in the MJHL.
The Stampeders are fresh off a 4-2 win over the league leading Portage Terriers on Friday night, and now sit tied comfortably in second place with 77 points and three games in hand on the Pistons.
The Run Down
Both the Wolverines and Stampeders have been on hot streaks as of late. While the Wolverines are coming off of their fifth straight win and eighth in their last nine, the Stampeders have won their past seven in a row.
Going 1-2-1-0 against the Stampeders so far this season, the Wolverines one win came in the third straight game the two teams played from November 20-24.
Back on December 19, the Wolverines held a 4-1 lead over the Stampders in the third period. But, Swan Valley would go on to score three goals in six minutes to tie the game up and send it to overtime.
In the extra frame, Josh Tripp would go on to score a goal of the year candidate to sink the Wolverines 5-4 on a night when Isaac LaBelle stopped 43 of 48 shots.
Keys to the Game
Both teams will be buzzing with a ton of energy on Saturday night as they continue to play at a high level close to the end of the regular season. Getting physical from the start and battling hard to win puck battles will be key for the Wolverines.
The Wolverines discipline and specialty teams will be put to the test against the Stampeders as they have a well rounded group who have converted on just over 20% of their chances with the man-advantage.
And there’s no question that Waywayseecappo is most successful when they use their speed. Most notably guys like Preston Seymour, Anthony Bilka and Conrad Phillips have the ability to burn defenders wide and create odd-man rushes.
News and Notes
Conrad Phillips will likely get inserted back into the lineup while Austin Cardinal will be on the mend after leaving Friday nights game in the second period.
Goaltender Isaac LaBelle will make his 14th consecutive start after picking up his third shutout of the season in his 100th career junior start in The Pas.
Brandon Lawson has been setting the tone over the last 18 games which includes a streak of seven goals and seven assists while dishing out a number of heavy hits to his opponents.
Game Updates
You can watch tonights game on hockeytv.com or follow along on social media…
mjhl_Wolverines – Twitter
Wayway Wolverines – Facebook
Instagram – wolverines_mjhl