Tonight is the first matchup of the season between these two division rivals. Last season it was in large part thanks to the Wolves that the North Stars earned a playoff birth. The Stars had a 5-1 record against their Bauer Conference foes last year, and ended up defeating the Wolves twice at the N.B. Civic Center.
That being said - La Ronge (on paper) is a much better team then last season. They head into this game with an impressive 2-0 record.
La Ronge Ice Wolves:
Who's Hot:
Mike Alexander. He started his SJHL career in style with a five-point weekend against the Nipawin Hawks. The 20-year-old D-Man provides a nice compliment to Dustin Stevenson, and will most likely be one of the biggest threats on the ice tonight for La Ronge.
Who's in Goal:
When I spoke with La Ronge coach Bob Beatty yesterday, he hinted that we would probably get to see North Battleford's Adam Bartko (1-0). Bartko spent time with the North Star's last year, and by many people's admission never truely got a chance to proove himself.
You can bet any sum of money that he would LOVE to come back here and stick it to the North Stars. I'd be shocked if we didn't see Bartko tonight.
Potential Ex-Factor:
Forwards Doug Lindensmith and Richard Cameron.
Lindensmith was a Star's killer last year. He always seemed to chip in with a goal or two, and really seemed to gain a lot of confidence at the season wore on. He was especially tough on the Stars at the Civic Center.
Richard Cameron is another North Battleford product that would love to come in and make an impression against his former team. He was let go by the Stars back in November of last year, and has now resurfaced with the Wolves. Cameron has a goal and a helper this season already for his new club.
The Battlefords North Stars:
Who's Hot:
Who's NOT?!? That is the real question. The North Stars are coming off a weekend in which they scored 15 goals in two games. Granted they only have a record of 1-1, but it's certainly safe to say that they've been receiving contributions from everyone in the lineup. If I had to choose a player, I'd go with Blake Peake. Peake had a breakout game at home on Saturday night, and should be looked upon to lead the way offensively again here tonight.
Who's in Goal:
Kyle Birch will get his second straight start for the North Stars tonight. Birch earned a 9-5 win against the Kindersley Klippers and played very well in doing-so. Coach Ken Pearson has made it clear that both Birch and Hilldebrand will get significant playing time this season. Ken made good use of the "Win and you stay in," school of thought last year, and while I don't think it will breakdown quite like that this year, Kyle's start tonight would certainly lend itself to that type of logic.
Potential Ex-Factor:
Forwards Mitch Wall and Tony Oak, Defencemen Coleman Brodbin and Brody Malek.
These four vets are all returning from their two-game suspensions suffered on the 8th of March last year. These four players will all be chomping at the bit to make an impact on this game. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see Wall and Malek provide some scoring, and Oak and Brodbin to add some toughness to the lineup.
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Battlefords North Stars Lineup Tonight:
Scratches:
D - Baptiste
D - Spiess
F - Wakelin
Forwards:
Peake - Daley - Neufeld
Wall - Tatchell - Waskewitch
Oak - Tomac - Watt
Lane - Andersen - Szucki
Defence:
Lebreton - Folstad
Brodbin - Malek
Cameron - Wourms
Goal:
*Birch
Hilldebrand
Tonight's game won't be on the air, but I'll certainly be providing twitter updates. Plus I'm also going to try and do color commentary for Dallas Hick's broadcast for the La Ronge Ice Wolves. You can listen to tonight's game
here.
Enjoy the game tonight. Care to share your predictions?
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