The Waywayseecappo Wolverines return to home ice on Thursday night against the Swan Valley Stampeders to start a busy stretch of games in the month of November.
It was a successful seven days for the Wolverines last week when the team managed to pick up three out of four wins.
4-3-0-0 so far in November, Waywayseecappo will cap off the month with five games in nine nights which include three on home ice and separate road trips to Virden and Steinbach.
Most recently, the club dropped a 4-3 decision to the Steinbach Pistons in a game that saw the Wolverines battle back from down 3-0 to tie it up and fall late in the game on a funny goal against.
Through two games against the Stamps, Wolverines have gone 1-1-0-0 with the loss coming in late September on the road in Swan River.
The Wolverines battled to a close 2-1 victory near the end of October that saw Kris Bladen score his first as a Wolverine while Conrad Phillips scored the game-winner. Thomson Phinney was solid in the win, stopping 27 of 28 shots.
Stampeders Outlook
The Swan Valley Stampeders enter Thursday night fresh off of back-to-back losses to two of the top teams in the league over the weekend.
It has certainly been a busy month for the Stamps’ as the team will play 14 games in the month of November.
After picking up a 3-2 shootout win over the Winkler Flyers, Swan Valley followed that up with a 5-4 loss to the Flyers the following night, before dropping a 6-2 decision to the Portage Terriers on Sunday night that wrapped up a three-in-three.
The big Stampeders club is led by two 1999-born skaters and a pair of 2000-born forwards. A balanced scoring attack has eleven Stampeders in double-digits in points with defenceman, Mattias Dal Monte leading the charge with 8 goals and 15 assists in 23 games.
It’s been a two-headed monster in the Stamps’ net as both Michael Davis and Mikael Foucher have split minutes throughout the season. Foucher has been the better of the two with an 8-3-0-0 record, 2.49 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage.
The Wolverines will need to be ready against a Stampeders club who will be hungry for the taste of victory after two tough losses.
News and Notes
As the standings continue to tighten, every game seems to matter more and more for the Wolverines. Heading into Thursday night, it’s no different as it seems like the playoff push has already begun in mid-November.
Waywayseecappo holds a one-point lead over Swan Valley, who happens to have two games in hand on the Wolverines. While the club sits three points out of a first-place tie, they also sit two points out of seventh which really shows how tight the standings are.
Getting into penalty trouble against the Stampeders could prove to be costly as they boast a league-best 27% conversion rate on the powerplay. Swan Valley’s penalty kill has also been a key point for the club as their 83.3% kill rate is good enough for third in the league.
As previously mentioned, the Wolverines have a busy end to the month of November with five games over the next nine nights before capping off the year with nine games in the month of December.
Jaymes Knee is coming off of a strong week having earned a star of the week nod from the league for posting 1 goal and six assists in four games. His linemates, Rayman Bassi and Conrad Phillips also continue to contribute as they are key parts of the Wolverines number one line.
Where to Watch
Watch tonight’s game between the Wolverines and Stampeders live on HockeyTV.com or follow the Wolverines on Twitter @mjhlWolverines for live game updates.
Fans can also listen to the call of the game on GX94 with Benny Walchuk in Yorkton or online at gx94radio.com