The Spruce Grove Saints (13-13-1-0) will conclude their final weekend of play in 2024 with a home-and-home set against the Sherwood Park Crusaders (17-11-0-0) beginning at Sherwood Park Arena on Friday night.
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Breakdown:
Spruce Grove:
Overall Record: 13-13-1-0 (7th in Interior Conference – 14th in BCHL)
Home Record: 5-7-1-0
Road Record: 8-6-0-0
Power Play: 16-for-86 (18.6% – 15th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 74-for-93 (79.6% – 6th in BCHL)
Sherwood Park:
Overall Record: 17-11-0-0 (5th in Interior Conference – 9th in BCHL)
Home Record: 10-4-0-0
Road Record: 7-7-0-0
Power Play: 33-for-102 (32.4% – 1st in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 74-for-96 (77.1% – 13th in BCHL)
Season Series:
Friday, October 4th @ Sherwood Park Arena (9-4 Crusaders) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, October 5th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (4-3 Saints) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, November 16th @ Sherwood Park Arena (6-2 Crusaders) (BOXSCORE)
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:
Spruce Grove comes into the final weekend of action before the holiday break after a victory on Saturday night against the Cranbrook Bucks at Western Financial Place by a 3-1 score. Oscar Wu, Matheson Mason and James Richards each found the back of the goal in the triumph while Xander Miceli was outstanding in goal, turning aside 36 of the 37 shots thrown his way in his 8th win of the season.
The Crusaders make their way into Friday night’s matchup also following a victory after a 9-5 win over the Okotoks Oilers on Saturday at Sherwood Park Arena. Nine different goal scorers in Nicholas DiPaolo, Poul Anderson, Connor Gengle, Matthew Frost, Lucas Brennan, Alexander Dimitriadis, Malachi McKinnon, Kale Dach and Jeremy Loranger came together for the win while Logan Kennedy turned aside 28 of the 33 shots thrown his way in his 4th win of the season.
Saints Leading Scorers:
Josh Polak (12-12-24)
Keifer Miller (6-17-23)
Austin Peters (7-12-19)
Ryan Johnstone (11-7-18)
Max Seguin (7-10-17)
Crusaders Leading Scorers:
Jeremy Loranger (18-30-47)
Kale Dach (10-29-39)
Poul Anderson (15-13-28)
Connor Gengle (3-21-24)
Malachi McKinnon (9-11-20)
Who To Watch For:
Spruce Grove:
- James Richards – Defenseman – Port Williams, Nova Scotia – Niagara University
Scoring in three consecutive games, Richards has provided plenty of offence from the back end and carries a four-game point streak into Friday night’s action against the Crusaders. The Niagara University commit has three goals and five points over his last four games and has five goals in his last 10 games as his offensive game begins to heat up toward the holiday break.
- Xander Miceli – Goaltender – Brentwood, Tennessee
Earning starts in back-to-back games, and getting the nod in goal tonight, Miceli will look to build off of season-best performance where he turned aside 36 of the 37 shots he faced in a victory over Cranbrook. The Brentwood, Tennessee native has won his past three starts, possessing a 2.20 goals against average and a .929 save percentage in that span, denying 92 of his last 99 shots faced.
Sherwood Park:
- Kale Dach – Forward – Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta – Penn State University
Not many have been better than Dach since the middle of November as the Crusaders forward has earned points in nine of his last 10 contests highlighted by a four-point effort against the Bucks on November 29th. The Penn State commit is riding a current three-game point streak which sees him with a goal and four assists for five points over that stretch.
- Jeremy Loranger – Forward – Trois-Rivieres, Quebec – University of Omaha-Nebraska
Continuing his torrid pace of scoring, Loranger added to his league-leading totals with a five-point night in the Crusaders 9-5 victory on Saturday on home ice. The UNO commit has goals in each of his last three games and has posted three markers with six assists for nine points during a three-game point steak while earning points in five of his last six games.
The Saints and Crusaders play the fourth of their seven-game season series on Saturday night at Sherwood Park Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 PM with the game being broadcasted live on the Saints Radio Network as well as streamed on FloHockey.
