LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western men's hockey team will play its final game of the regular season this Friday at the George Preston Recreation Centre against Victoria.
With Spartans already locked into third place in the BCIHL standings and assured of playing Simon Fraser in the opening round of the playoffs, TWU will look to Friday's tilt as a last-chance dress rehearsal before the post-season.
The Vikes are in a similar position as they will finish fourth in the BCIHL and are already set to open the playoffs on the road against Selkirk.
WEEKEND PREVIEW
Friday, March 4 vs. Victoria – 7 p.m. (George Preston Recreation Centre)
TRINITY WESTERN SPARTANS (13-8-0-2)
BCIHL Standings: 3rd
Last game: Selkirk (6-3 L)
BCIHL Streak: 1 loss
BCIHL Form: L-L-W-W-L
2014-15 BCIHL Regular Season Record: 17-5-0-2 (1st)
2014-15 BCHIL Playoff Record: 0-2 (lost in BCIHL semifinal)
SPARTANS NOTES
• The Spartans are coming off a 6-3 loss against Selkirk last weekend in which the Saints rallied from a 3-2 third period deficit to score four goals in the final frame.
• TWU is 3-2 against Victoria this year and has a +6 goal differential.
• The last time these two teams played was Jan. 22 when the Spartans earned a 6-2 win on home ice. Prior to that, TWU had lost back-to-back games against Victoria, falling 5-4 and 6-4 on the road.
• TWU has won just two of its last six games and both of those victories came against Eastern Washington.
• The Spartans have only one win regulation time win over a playoff-bound opponent (Jan. 22 against Victoria) since the Christmas break. TWU is 2-7 overall in 2016 against teams that are in the top four in the BCIHL standings.
• Mattias Schmitt continues to lead TWU in points, with seven goals and 20 assists in 23 games.
• With Jamie Russell dressing for Friday's game, he will pass Matt Chaput into second on the Spartans all-time games played list, with 96. Even more impressively, Russell hasn't missed a single regular season game in his four-year career. TWU's Trevor Beaupre is the BCIHL's all-time leader in games played, with 109.
• TWU's power play is working at 14.7 per cent while its penalty kill is at 83.1 per cent.
VICTORIA VIKES (9-12-0-1)
BCIHL Standings: 4th
Last game: Eastern Washington (5-2 W, 5-2 W)
BCIHL Streak: 3 wins
BCIHL Form: W-L-W-W-W
2014-15 BCIHL Regular Season Record: 11-10-0-3 (3rd)
2014-15 BCIHL Playoff Record: 0-2 (lost in BCHIL semifinal)
VIKES NOTES
• The Vikes enter this weekend coming off three consecutive wins over Eastern Washington, including back-to-back 5-2 wins last weekend at home.
• Shawn Mueller has tallied at least a point in 16 of his last 17 games and leads Victoria in scoring with 11 goals and 18 assists in 22 games.
• The Vikes don't have a single player in the top 15 in league penalty minutes, while TWU has six players amongst the top 15.
• Victoria's power play is working at 16.4 per cent while its penalty kill is at 82.3 per cent.
• Vikes goalies Scott Legault and Zach Wear have split duties this year, with Legault playing 13 games – going 5-7 with a 3.71 goals against average and a .901 save percentage – and Wear playing 11 games – going 4-6 with a 4.16 goals against average and a .892 save percentage.
• Both Legault and Wear have seen action in three games against TWU this year. In Victoria's most recent game against the Spartans, the netminders split duties in the Vikes 6-2 loss.
-TW-
