Well Christmas has past , a year has flew right by, and were ready to embark on 2011. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays , and had a great year in 2010. I know my year was awesome and I had an amazing time being back home in Edmonton over the holidays, but it's time to get back in to the swing of things.
Before I get to a game preview for tonight , I just want to shout out a few awards that were announced around the SJHL that I missed.
First it was announced this past weekend that Sean Cahill was named the SJHL goaltender of the month. Cahill went 6-1-0 with a goals against average of 2.72 and a save percentage of .905 throughout the month of December. Simply put Cahill looked great throughout the month of December.
Also I have to give a shout out to Johnny Calkins for being named a runner up for the SJHL player of the month.
Onto tonight's game.....
The Klippers are ridding a six game winning streak into tonight's contest. The Klippers were arguably the hottest team in the SJHL heading into the Christmas break and it will be interesting to see if the break was a positive or a negative for the team. Its been a long break, fifteen days of no game action. That's a long stretch for a team to be off , but it could certainly work as a positive. I know Rockie Zinger mentioned before the break that it would be a great thing for the team , as it would be a chance for the players to re charge their batteries and then get right back to where they left off.
Looking at the current standings and the way the schedule is set up , you have to think the Klippers may have first place in their sights. Their next three contests are all at home against teams below them in the standings. If the Klippers want to be a first place team , then these are three games the team needs to win. They currently are eleven points back of Yorkton with two games in hand. They could gain some ground with a few wins at home , which would make Tuesdays game in Yorkton that much more important. I know from talking to people in the organization and some players , that first place in the Sherwood division is their goal.
To reach that goal it starts with a win tonight against the Hounds. The Hounds have really somewhat hit rock bottom , they have lost two in a row and are 2-7-1 in their past ten. On the road the team has struggled mildly with a 3-7-1-2 record. Despite their struggles on the road , the Hounds are still a team that scares me. They are one of the hardest if not the hardest working team in the league. They have great goal tending in Russell Abbott, who has been great against the Klippers in the previous three meetings , and they have alot of players who are likely looking to showcase their talents with the upcoming trade deadline on January 10th.
The thing the Hounds struggle with though is scoring and it doesn't help that they have lost their leading scorer in Trevor Cameron after he requested to be traded.
The Klippers key against the Hounds is to score first. I say it every time they play them , but if the Klippers can beat Abbott early then they will be able to beat the Hounds.
A few players on the Klippers are riding streaks as Jonny Calkins has a five game goal streak and Sanfred King has an eight game point streak. We wil see if those players can extend those streaks and also see if the Klippers can improve to 4-0 against the Hounds on the season.
I am pumped for tonight's action and I am sure Klipper nation is to. I will have much more on tonight's web cast which kicks off at 7:15. The link to watch and listen is posted on the right side of the blog.
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