The cycle of weekend road trip, mid-week at home, weekend road trip, mid-week at home continues for the Klippers tonight when they take on the Battlefords North Stars for the third time this season. The Klippers have been nothing short of atrocious in their last few mid-week outings, and it's imperative that trend stops tonight if they are to turn the ship around.
Rockie Zinger will be running the show tonight with Larry Wintoneak in Penticton getting ready for the WJAC. It's rare that a young guy who just got here is thrown into a situation like this so quickly, so it'll be interesting to see how he handles this club and the skid they are in, especially against a talented rival.
I've talked to Rockie a couple times since he got here and he's a pretty well-spoken guy with a real mind for strategy. The team went 4-2 under Trevor Weisgerber last year when Wintoneak was away, so we'll see what they can do this time around.
Of course, the Klips are also without defenceman Sean Flanagan and they will need everyone to step up to fill that void. Obviously Kurt Leedahl and John Sonntag will be expected to chew up a few extra minutes, but I look to a guy like Cody Lund to step up here. He's primarily a stay-at-home guy, but he has shown the ability to handle the puck and make the simple outlet pass, and I think his poise makes him the best option to try to fill Flanagan's shoes, beyond the big two.
Lance Tabin can also handle the biscuit fairly well and he'll be relied upon more than usual, I'm sure. It's also possible that Zinger will move Riley Down back to defence on a temporary basis, but we'll see.
As I said on Dan O'Connor's show this week, both these teams are underachieving to date and they both should be amped for a big game tonight. You can be sure that the Stars will have at least some of their big guns going, so it's imperative for the likes of Johnny Calkins, Braeden Adamyk, Sanfred King and Taylor Duzan to step up in what will probably be a high-scoring affair.
I'd be shocked if Alexandre Peck doesn't get the start tonight. The Stars will pose a big challenge for him and a win would really boost his confidence after a rocky start with the team.
Speaking of those Stars, they haven't played in a week. Their last game was a 6-5 loss to La Ronge last Wednesday which saw the Wolves score four times in the third period. And before that, they took a 11-1 thrashing from Humboldt on Oct. 23.
They are a fragile bunch at the moment, much like the Klippers, and Kindersley could do themselves a big favour by dominating the first five or six minutes and pumping a lot of shots on whoever gets the start.
One player to watch for the Stars could be Brett Miller. He suffered a knee injury in the last meeting between these teams, in the Klippers' home opener, and he also missed the cut for the World Junior A Challenge after receiving strong consideration for a camp invite. He hasn't performed badly, with eight points in nine games, but after missing significant action you can bet he's motivated to start lighting it up.
If you can't make the game tonight, I'll be doing colour on the North Battleford broadcast with Dan O'Connor. Pre-game show starts at 7:15. You can tune in here.
Also, if you're interested in hearing the interview I did with Dan on the Sports Fix on Monday, you can listen here.
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