New rosters, same old rivalry as TRU and SFU face off in preseason series

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It may be the preseason, but that never seems to dull the intensity of games between the TRU WolfPack and SFU Clan. And with a home-and-home series on deck for the coming weekend, chances are the finalists in the past two BCIHL Championship games will want to set the tone for another tight regular season race.

“I expect another tough battle against SFU this weekend” says WolfPack GM Chris Hans, adding, “We have a lot of respect for them too, we've played them tough the first two seasons in the league”.

This weekend's match-ups also represent the last opportunity for Hans and first year head coach Don Shulz to see their squad in action before travelling to Calgary to face SAIT and Grant McEwan College in a week's time.

On the ice, the WolfPack will look to rebound from a weekend that saw them collect a tie and a loss in their first two exhibition contests. A 2-2 draw with Okanagan College on Friday was followed up with a 9-3 loss to the British Columbia Hockey League's Trail Smoke Eaters a night later.

“Were not quite there yet, but its early in the pre-season for us," says Hans. "We've played two exhibition games, and I would say as a team we're not happy with the results in both of the games. I think we should have won that home game, and the game down in Trail, I'm sure everyone would like a different result. Having said that the whole team needs to pick it up to get where we want to go this season”.

SFU, meanwhile, is also coming off a less than stellar performance against a BCHL foe after dropping a 3-2 decision to the Langley Rivermen.

"We have a very young, new group and some growing pains are natural," says SFU general manager Jeff Dubois. "But what we've seen thus far in the preseason is a lack of will to battle and commit to doing the little things right. That said, games against TRU always seem to get the blood flowing, and this weekend should be more of the same."

Gametime for Friday night's match-up at Memorial Arena in Kamloops is 8:30 PM, while Saturday's return engagement in Burnaby faces off at 7:00 PM.