BCIHL Young Stars, Kazakhstan U20s set to face off Monday night in Langley

After a semester spent battling for loose pucks and finishing checks against one another, some of the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League's top players will have an opportunity work together on Monday night when a team comprised of BCIHL Young Stars take on Kazakhstan's Under-20 National Team at the Langley Events Centre.

The match-up marks the third and final game of the 2018 College Hockey Showcase that has already seen Kazakhstan go head-to-head with the University of Victoria and Trinity Western University.

The results thus far have favoured the Kazakhs, who are warming up for the 2019 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. They will kick off the event in Victoria on December 27th against Finland, playing in a group that also includes Sweden, the United States and Slovakia.

Kazakhstan opened the showcase with a 6-2 victory over the Vikes before netting a 4-3 overtime win against TWU.

The Kazakhs are led by a pair of offensively gifted forwards in Sayan Daniyar and Artur Gatiyatov, who sit third and seventh in scoring in the top Eurasian junior league covering Russia, Kazakhstan, Latvia and China.

Meanwhile, the BCIHL will be represented by players from all five of the league's teams. 17 of the 20 Young Stars are BCIHL rookies, with TWU netminder Lucas Mills and defenceman Elijah Vilio, and UVic blueliner Tyler Severson the only veteran players on the roster.

But there is no shortage of firepower to be found on the squad, which is headlined by VIU sniper Brett Witala. The first-year winger currently sits tops in goals and second in points amongst BCIHL skaters with 8 and 17 respectively, trailing only teammate Dallas Calvin for the league scoring lead.

He is joined by Selkirk's Edward Lindsey and Dylan Heppler, VIU's Gavin Rauser and SFU's Cole Plotnikoff as forwards who currently sit amongst the BCIHL's top 20 scorers at the close of 2018.

SEE THE COMPLETE BCIHL YOUNG STARS ROSTER

The BCIHL will turn to Mills and SFU's Michael Lenko between the pipes. Mills has been dominant through the first half of the 2018/19 season, leading all league netminders with a 1.65 goals-against average and .938 save-percentage, which would both obliterate the current league records should he duplicate those totals over the remainder of the season.

TWU's Barret Kropf and UVic's Harry Schamhart will take the reins of the BCIHL squad behind the bench, putting the group in the capable hands of the league's last two championship-winning bench bosses.

Tickets for the game are available to be purchased online (click here) or at the door. The game will also be broadcast live on Hockey TV for out-of-town viewers.