The Waywayseecappo Wolverines kick off a five-game homestand on Saturday night when they welcome the Winnipeg Blues to Waywayseecappo.
It’s been a bumpy start to 2020 for the Wolverines as both games haven’t gone as planned.
After surrendering four powerplay goals in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Kings, the Wolverines paid a visit to Swan Valley where after finding themselves tied at 2-2, they would end up falling 8-3.
The Wolverines are now 5-4-1-0 in their last ten and will look for their first win of 2020 against a pesky Blues team that has given the Wolverines trouble so far this season.
Head to Head
After opening their season series with a 6-3 win over the Blues in Winnipeg at the MJHL Showcase, the young team from Winnipeg has given the Wolverines everything they’ve got, picking up three straight wins since then.
All three losses have been by one goal, including a pair of games that the Wolverines led in, and couldn’t hold on.
Their most recent meeting saw the Wolverines surrender a 4-0 lead with Winnipeg scoring five unanswered goals on their way to a 5-4 victory just prior to the Christmas break.
There is certainly no quit in the Blues when finding themselves down and the Wolverines will need to play right to the final buzzer if they are going to have success on Saturday night.
Blues Outlook
The Blues come into Saturday night having gone 2-7-1-0 in their last ten games including a pair of losses to start the new year.
The Blues are led up front by 2001-born forward, Mikol Sartor who currently sits third in MJHL scoring with 19 goals and 35 assists in 40 games.
In net, another youngster leads the way for the team in 2001-born netminder Cooper Hatfield. Hatfield has been a big part of the Blues success this season with his 3.40 goals-against average and .909 save percentage.
Coming into Saturday night the Wolverines have taken 528 more penalty minutes than the Blues. If the Wolverines can manage to keep their composure and be physical against them, it will go a long way in creating space and opportunity.
The Blues are four points back of the Steelers for the eighth and final playoff spot and will be hungry for points after the seventh place Steelers traded away their elite pieces prior to the trade deadline.
News and Notes
The Wolverines find themselves in sixth place after Virden skated to a 2-1 victory over Winkler on Friday night.
Now one point back of the Oil Caps’ and six points ahead of the seventh-place Kings, the Wolverines need to start stacking wins with 19 games left to go on the regular-season schedule.
Recent acquisitions, Colin Ahern (G) and Alex Rivet (F) are expected to make their Wolverines debut on Saturday night.
Saturday nights’ game starts a five-game homestand for the Wolverines that will see the club take on the Terriers on Tuesday and the Steelers for a back to back on Thursday and Friday night.
The club will have a seven-day break between games for the MJHL/SJHL Showcase which takes place in Regina on the 21 & 22.
Where to Watch
Watch tonight’s game between the Wolverines and Blues live on HockeyTV.com or follow the Wolverines on Twitter @mjhlWolverines for live game updates.