Game day thread: Kootenay @ Brandon, 7:30 PM
2/5/2010 at 9:52 AM
Kootenay Ice (34-16-2-2, 72 pts, 4th in Eastern Conference
Top scorers: Dustin Sylvester (28+46=74), Steele Boomer (21+34=55), Brayden McNabb (15+35=50), Kevin King (19+26=45)
Top scoring defenceman: McNabb (15+35=50)
Full season stats: Click here
Probable starting goaltender: Logic would dictate Nathan Lieuwen perhaps getting the call with Todd Matthews having started on Monday and Wednesday, but with Lieuwen almost exclusively seeing weak opponents over the last two months I'll guess that it's Matthews (26-7-2, 0.912 save percentage, 2.65 goals against average) again tonight
Manitobans: Luke Paulsen (Winnipeg)
Brandon Wheat Kings (36-16-0-3, 75 pts, 1st in Eastern Conference)
Top scorers: Matt Calvert (35+36=71), Brayden Schenn (22+43=65), Aaron Lewadniuk (27+36=63), Scott Glennie (22+40=62)
Top scoring defenceman: Colby Robak (11+39=50)
Full season stats: Click here
Probable starting goaltender: Going to guess De Serres (16-6-0, 0.892 save percentage, 3.24 goals against average) gets the call once again considering he replaced Hayes in the game vs Kootenay last week.
The Wheat Kings play the first of two key four point games tonight when the red-hot Kootenay Ice make a visit to Brandon.
Kootenay has lost just two of their 19 past games (17-1-1). One of those losses, however, came against the Wheat Kings last week in Cranbrook.. a 6-5 overtime decision. Their streak has them in legitimate contention for the division and conference titles. A regulation win tonight would put them into first in the Central and just one point behind the Wheat Kings.
As far as the Wheat Kings and the race for first in the East Division, the Saskatoon Blades play in Regina tonight before tomorrow night's key game with the Wheat Kings in Saskatoon.
Would be great to hear others' thoughts on the matchup pre and post-game. I'll have lineups and scratches approx 1/2 hour before game time.