The Waywayseecappo Wolverines will look to get in the win column for the first time in 2020 on Tuesday night when the club travels north to take on the Swan Valley Stampeders.
Waywayseecappo fell short in their 2020 opener to the Dauphin Kings on Sunday. The Wolverines led 3-1 in the second period and just couldn’t solve the Kings powerplay.
Dauphin went 4-for-5 on the powerplay and took a 4-3 lead before Kris Bladen sent the game to overtime after he scored with 24 seconds remaining.
In overtime, Austin Lamotte broke through on the faceoff and went in alone to beat Liam Tereposky to give the Kings a 5-4 win in extra time.
Head to Head
In three games this season, the Wolverines have gone 1-2-0-0 against the Stampeders, with Swan Valley notching a pair of 4-1 victories with the first coming in late September and the most recent win coming in late November.
Sandwiched in between those pair of losses was a tight 2-1 victory over the Stamps’ that saw Conrad Phillips notch a goal and assist in a penalty-filled affair.
All three games have been filled with their fair share of penalties with the Wolverines not being able to capitalize going 1-for-22 while the Stamps’ have managed to go 4-for-18.
Discipline will be the name of the game if the Wolverines are looking to come out of Tuesday night with two points.
Stampeders Outlook
It hasn’t been an ideal start to 2020 for the Stampeders either. After opening the year with a 3-1 loss to the Winkler Flyers, Swan Valley followed that up with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Neepawa Natives.
Prior to the break, Swan Valley strung together a five-game win streak and went 7-2-1-0 down the stretch in their last ten in December.
Goaltender Mikael Foucher has been a big part of the Stamps’ success this season coming up with big saves in big moments. Foucher’s 2.60 goals-against average and .916 save percentage both rank 2nd among MJHL goaltenders.
Leading the way offensively for the Stamps’ has been stand-out Defenseman, Mattias Dal Monte. In 39 games, the 19-year-old has notched 12 goals and 30 assists to lead his club in scoring.
The grit and overall size of the Stamps’ roster have been a big key to their teams’ success over the last two seasons.
News and Notes
The Wolverines sit just three points back of the Stampeders while Swan Valley owns one game in hand ahead of Tuesday night.
With the Oil Capitals and Kings creeping up on the Wolverines in the standings, grabbing two points is crucial if the club wants to continue to separate themselves into the top four.
The Wolverines were the first team to reach the 40 game mark this season and have just 1/3 of their schedule remaining as the push to the playoffs starts to amp up more and more each game.
Tuesday night in Swan River will be the Wolverines second trip of the season and fourth meeting on the regular-season schedule.
After Tuesday’s game, the Wolverines won’t return to game action until Saturday night when they get back to home ice to host the pesky Winnipeg Blues.
The January 10 roster deadline is now just three days away as teams will be forced to make some tough decisions to come up with their final roster.
Where to Watch & Listen
Watch tonight’s game between the Wolverines and Stampeders live on HockeyTV.com or follow the Wolverines on Twitter @mjhlWolverines for live game updates.
You can also listen to Benny Walchuk on GX94 in Yorkton or listen online at gx94radio.com.