The Spruce Grove Saints (12-13-1-0) will look to get back into the win column as they travel to the East Kootenays to face-off against the Cranbrook Bucks (15-10-1-0) on Saturday night at Western Financial Place.
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Breakdown:
Spruce Grove:
Overall Record: 12-13-1-0 (7th in Interior Conference – 14th in BCHL)
Home Record: 5-7-1-0
Road Record: 7-6-0-0
Power Play: 16-for-83 (19.2% – 18th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 71-for-90 (78.9% – 7th in BCHL)
Cranbrook:
Overall Record: 15-10-1-0 (6th in Interior Conference – 13th in BCHL)
Home Record: 7-6-0-0
Road Record: 8-4-1-0
Power Play: 25-for-99 (25.3% – 6th in BCHL)
Penalty Kill: 73-for-83 (88.0% – 2nd in BCHL)
Season Series:
Saturday, November 2nd @ Western Financial Place (5-4 Saints) (BOXSCORE)
Friday, November 8th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (5-1 Saints) (BOXSCORE)
Saturday, December 14th @ Western Financial Place (7:00 PM)
Friday, January 24th @ Western Financial Place (7:00 PM)
Tuesday, January 28th @ Grant Fuhr Arena (7:00 PM)
Looking Back:
Spruce Grove will look to make their way back into the win column following a tough 5-4 loss to the Okotoks Oilers on Friday night at Viking Rentals Centre. Max Seguin, Ryan Johnstone, James Richards and Austin Peters each found the back of the net in the loss while Ryan De Kok turned asid3 31 of the 36 shots thrown his way in his 8th loss of the season.
The Bucks enter play on Saturday following a shutout win on home ice at Western Financial Place on Friday night, earning a 3-0 triumph over the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Nick Capasso scored twice in the game in the second period while Blake Cotton added a third period goal in the victory. Jaden Cholette turned aside each of the 27 shots thrown his way in his 8th win of the season and his 1st career BCHL shutout.
Saints Leading Scorers:
Josh Polak (12-12-24)
Keifer Miller (6-16-22)
Austin Peters (7-12-19)
Ryan Johnstone (11-7-18)
Max Seguin (7-9-16)
Bucks Leading Scorers:
Jacob Fletcher (6-22-28)
Bryce Sookro (6-22-28)
Rasmus Svartstrom (20-6-26)
Blake Cotton (8-12-20)
Kaslo Ferner (12-7-19)
Who’s Hot:
Spruce Grove:
- James Richards – Defenceman – Port Williams, Nove Scotia – Niagara University
The Saints defender has scored in back-to-back games and brings a three-game point streak into Saturday night, possessing two goals and two assists for four points in that span. The Niagara commit is leading the charge on points from the back end for the Saints this season with 12 points from the blue line and plays in every situation throughout the game for his squad.
- Max Seguin – Forward – Orleans, Ontario
Another player carrying a three-game point streak into Saturday night’s action, Seguin has found his stride offensively including multi-point efforts in back-to-back contests. The Orleans, Ontario native has compiled two goals and five points in his last three games including registering a goal and an assist in consecutive games.
Cranbrook:
- Blake Cotton – Forward – Vancouver, BC
Carrying experience of well over 100 BCHL games into Saturday night, Cotton is a veteran forward who has collected points in each of his last three games while sitting at 63 points total over his BCHL career. The Vancouver native scored a third period marker in Friday’s victory over Salmon Arm and has a goal and two assists for three points over his stretch of three consecutive games with a point.
- Bryce Sookro – Defenceman – Nelson, BC – Clarkson University
Much like Cotton, Sookro has plenty of experience in the BCHL and has been one of the top scoring blueliners in the league this season, earning 28 points in 25 games played from the Cranbrook back end. Getting a commitment to Clarkson, Sookro has also collected assists in each of his last four games and currently is five points ahead of Trail’s Lucas Lemieux for the distinction of highest scoring defenceman in the BCHL.
The Saints and Bucks play the third of six games this season against one another with puck drop slated for 7:00 PM at Western Financial Place. The game from Cranbrook can be heard on the Saints Radio Network as well as streamed online on FloHockey.
