Where to begin?- It's an 8-point weekend. If the slumping Millionaires can sweep, they'd pass the Terriers and be right back in the thick of things. If Yorkton sweeps, the Mils will have lost 7 of 8, and quite possibly be looking at "selling," even as early as the December 1st roster cut-down date. I'm not just assuming, Jamie Fiesel said this stretch of games (including the Showcase) will go a long way in determining what they do December 1. If the two teams split, like they did Thanksgiving Weekend, well, not much changes!
- Neither team has lit the lamp a lot lately. In their last 10 games, Yorkton's scored 21 goals, while Melville's found the net 29 times. Jordan Menke leads the Terriers with 8 points (4g, 4a) in his last 10 games. Michael Jordan, Mike Desjarlais and Logan Herauf have 9 points each during the same stretch for Melville.
- Torey Stott leads the Terriers with 9 goals, but has one goal in his last 8 games. Even Menke, who does have 4 goals in his last 10 games, is goal-less in 5. Kevin Stringfellow hasn't scored in his last 6. Cody Zubko was originally credited with Yorkton's goal in a 1-0 win in Humboldt last Saturday, but that's since been changed to Nick Dietrich's goal. That makes Zubko without a goal in 14 games. Some of the Terriers' top guys are certainly due heading into the weekend.
- Most under-rated Terrier? Might be Kurtis Decker. I was amazed Tuesday in Weyburn how much #3 was on the ice. Must have been at least 25:00. Decker's got 2 assists on the season but his defensive game has been great, and he'll likely see a lot of Herauf, Decorby and company this weekend.
- The Terrier powerplay was great in the first home and home against Melville, going 5/13 (38.5%). Their overall penalty kill is still a league-best 84.1%.
- Should be Devin Peters' turn to start tonight for Yorkton. Petey is 6-6 with a 3.40 GAA and .897%. Boechler and Danyluk have had better #'s lately, so a strong performance for Peters against Melville would really help his cause as the Terriers look to get down to two goalies in the next 10 days.
- I wasn't just picking on the Terriers. As mentioned the Mils' offense has gone a little cold recently also, with their 6-0 win in Weyburn November 3rd the exception. After getting points in 17 of his first 18 games, Mils' leading scorer Logan Herauf has been held pointless in 3 of his last 6 games, and has put up 1g, 2a in those 6 GP. Aaron Decorby's kept things pretty consistent. Although he's also been kept off the sheet in 3 of his last 6 games, he's scored goals in 3 of his last 4, and now leads the team with 16g. Matt Kinnunen started the season on fire and has 9 goals, but none in his last 7 games. Kinnunen and Michael Jordan lead the Mils with 2g and 4 points against Yorkton this season.
- Coach Fiesel says his best forward of late has been Michael Desjarlais. The rookie has a 3-game point streak heading into tonight (2-2-4), and has points in 11 of his last 15 games (5g-9a-14p).
- Brayden Metz has 1g, 2a in 5 games since his return from the Regina Pats.
- Who starts in goal tonight for Melville? 16-year-old Zach Rakochy's either started or came on in relief in 6 of Melville's last 7 games. Brady Wilyman hasn't been 100% health-wise lately as the flu is going through a lot of hockey teams this time of year.
- A little inconsistent? The Mils started the season 2-and-1, then went 0-5-1 in their next 6, 7-1-1 in their next 9, and are 1-and-5 in their last 6.
- Tonight's game's on the radio, starting at 7:20 with the Pre Game Show. If you're out of town, head to http://www.gx94radio.com/ .
2 comments:
Hi Griag you say Decker gets a lot of ice time.Do you have + - for the defence if you do could you post it I can'st seem to find it then we will see what the defence does, thanks
YEah the league doesn't keep plus/minus stats... some of the individual teams do, they get their scratches to mark them down in the stands. i know melville keeps theirs, i'm not sure about YOR, it's a great stat to have though.
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