This weekend will serve as both a preview and warm-up for the first round of the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League playoffs when Thompson Rivers University faces off against rivals SFU in Burnaby on Saturday.
Puck drop for TRU's final regular season home game is set for 7:00 PM at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre.
Thompson Rivers University will finish in third-place and SFU will wrap up the regular season with second-place in the BCIHL standings regardless of the outcome.
"We are going to look at this game as playoff preparation," says WolfPack head coach Don Schulz. "The fact the game has no bearing on the league standings is no excuse to not play our best. If we play well it will be an excellent precursor and springboard."
Riddled with injuries all season, Saturday may be no exception. Both Duncan Schulz and Kevin Lourens may be out with lower body injuries.
This week at practice the ‘Pack has been working to further enforce the essential elements that they will need to bring with them to Burnaby in order to be successful: zone systems, transitions and special teams.
TRU has the players and experience needed to win games. But, they have been known to lack discipline and grow tired on the power play, penalty kill and not put together solid 60-minutes of hockey.
WolfPack rookie and forward Alessio Tomassetti currently leads the team in points. In the 23 games he has played this season he has netted 15 goals and added another 18 assists to his name. Tomassetti is in third-place on the league leader board and his play has been part of the ‘Packs success so far.
"Saturday is important because we haven’t had a whole lot of success in that building. We need to answer back and play well and leave SFU feeling uncertain heading into playoffs," said Schulz.
TRU is also scheduled to play SFU to open the BCIHL playoffs. Game 1 is to take place on Friday, March 8th in Burnaby. Game 2 will bring the ‘Pack back to Kamloops and Memorial Arena on Saturday, March 9th for an 8:00 PM faceoff. Game 3 will return to the Lower Mainland on Sunday if the teams split Friday and Saturday.