Thompson Rivers University is eager to get back on the ice and continue their five-game winning streak on Friday when Okanagan College visits Kamloops to open a home-and-home series between the BCIHL's second and third-ranked teams.
The WolfPack's last league game before the holiday break ended resulted in a 6-5 win over Selkirk College. They opened January with a pair of ties against Portage College of the ACAC, but Friday's match-up marks TRU's first BCIHL encounter in over six weeks.
"The games against Portage College were great because we had a break over Christmas and it was good to get the guys back into some game conditioning,” says WolfPack head coach Don Schulz.
Thompson Rivers enters their spring schedule with six new players on the roster, as five new forwards and a defenceman have been brought on board for the stretch run. Of that group, five are returning players, as Jose Reyes and Kevin Hanna suited up for the 'Pack during the 2009/10 season while Casey Patterson, Taylor Stuart and Cody Rose were all a part of the TRU squad that finished first during the 2011 regular season.
The sixth addition, forward Rylee Orr, is a former Kamloops Storm player who competed with Utah State in the ACHA last season.
"It's a talented group that will add depth and improve the calibre of the team,” says Schultz.
Reyes, Patterson, Stuart, Orr and Rose are expected to suit up this weekend while Hanna's debut will be delayed as he attends to some firefighting-related training.
Patterson, who played for the WolfPack for the last two years, is happy to be back on the ice with his teammates.
“So far I’m loving it and it seems like we've got a good group of guys," he says. "I’m looking forward to getting back to the season.”
Friday's game is scheduled for an 8:30 PM faceoff at Memorial Arena, while the return engagement in Kelowna is set for 7:45 PM on Saturday.
VICTORIA
SIMON FRASER
OKANAGAN
LOGAN LAKE
VANCOUVER ISLAN.
