Game Day Preview – Red Wings vs Bruins

story by Play-By-Play Voice of the Red Wings, Steven Wilson, of DiscoverWeyburn.com

Weyburn Red Wings (15-15-1-4) at Estevan Bruins (24-11-0-1)

Affinity Place, Estevan, SK

Tune into K106, 7:30 p.m. (pregame at 7:20 p.m.)

The Weyburn Red Wings start off the second half of the 2016-17 campaign with a visit to their old rivals, the Estevan Bruins. This will be the fifth meeting of the year between the two, who will have another five games against each other before the season ends. The season series has been split, with each team picking up two wins. For the Wings, though, they do have the edge in points, as one of their losses to Estevan came in extra time.

The Wings have been struggling as of late in finding the back of the net. While they have lead their opponents in shots for most games in December, they wouldn’t always come out on top on the scoreboard. This has Weyburn riding a three game losing streak. They have managed to pick up points in six of their last ten games, though, which have helped them keep pace with Estevan.

The Bruins are the offensive powerhouse of the league. They have more goals for than anyone else in the SJHL so far this season. They are 6-4 in the last ten games, though, and have shown some weakness as of late. The biggest weakness is in keeping their opponents off the scoreboard. Only La Ronge has allowed more goals than the Bruins so far this year.

The Bruins will also need to watch their discipline. They are the second most penalized team in the SJHL this season, with over 1000 penalty minutes. They have also taken a high number of majors, with 13 of the 32 so far for dangerous play penalties, like hits from behind, blows to the head and goaltender interference. Their 19 fighting majors are also the highest in the league, tied with Kindersley. By comparison, the Red Wings have had 19 majors handed out this season, and are among the bottom of the league when it comes to fighting majors.

The special teams for both clubs couldn’t be more opposite either. The Red Wings come into the game with the 10th ranked power play in the SJHL, at 13.7%. The penalty kill is also the worst in the league, at 75.4%. Estevan, on the other hand, has a power play that converts more than 20% of the time, and a penalty kill that is operating around 81.7%. For the Wings to be able to pick up at least three of the four possible points in the holiday home and home, they will need to improve on both of those numbers, while limiting the Bruins when they get the man advantage.

The game starts at 7:30 p.m. at Affinity Place. For those who don’t make the trek down Highway 39 for the game, you can listen live on Red Wing Radio, K106, with the pregame show starting at 7:20 p.m.

The two teams will return to Weyburn for a matinee affair Sunday January 1st at 3pm for the Annual Tommy Huston Classic.

 

Game Day Preview sponsored by Tim Hortons.