Lethbridge – For the second week in a row, the Lethbridge Pronghorn men’s hockey team (1-19-2 CW) will face a nationally ranked opponent, but this weekend will be on home ice as they host the Manitoba Bisons for a pair of games.
 
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm both Friday and Saturday night at Nicholas Sheran Arena. Both games will also be webcast on www.canadawest.tv , home for all Canada West webcasts.
 
Last weekend, a shorthanded Pronghorn line up was no match for the number one team in the country, Alberta Golden Bears, dropping both games by a combined 13-2 score. The ‘Horns finished the weekend with only 13 healthy skaters and it is still uncertain if any of the injured players will return in time for this coming weekend.
 
Freshman Chase Schaber and captain Dan Iwanski, the ‘Horns top two scorers; have missed the past three contests. Schaber was leading the conference in rookie scoring prior to his injury and has 8 goals and 10 assists in 19 games. Iwanski has registered 12 points this season.
 
Not unexpected with the way the season has gone this year, the ‘Horns rank at the bottom of nearly all statistical categories. The Horns have scored 40 goals, which is the fewest in the conference, and they’ve allowed the most goals against with 115. On specialty teams, the ‘Horns power play is ranked eighth (13.4%) and the penalty killing is ranked seventh (78%).
 
The Bisons (13-5-4), ranked ninth in the CIS, enter the weekend having earned points in four consecutive games and are tied for second in Canada West but the Saskatchewan Huskie own the tie breaker on the virtue of more wins.  Last weekend, the Bisons earned three points versus the Calgary Dinos, shutting out the Dinos 6-0, before losing 3-2 in overtime the next night.
 
Offensively the Bisons have scored the second most goals in the conference and have two top two scorers in the conference. Ian Duval leads the conference with 30 points in 22 games, while 2011-12 Canada West first team all-star Blair Macaulay sits tied for second with 10 goals and 19 assists.
 
Between the pipes, Jesse Deckert, who spent just over one semester with the Pronghorns, leads the conference in wins with 12 and has played in 19 of the Bisons 22 games this year. Deckert has the third best goals-against-average in the conference at 2.08.
 
The Bisons sport the conference’s best penalty killing percentage, killing off 84% their penalties and sit fourth with the extra attacker, scoring on 19.7% of their power play attempts.
 
Next weekend, the ‘Horns will face the Mount Royal Cougars in a home-and-home series, beginning Friday night in Calgary and the return affair happening Saturday in Lethbridge.

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