Lethbridge - The Men's Pronghorns hockey team had a disappointing home stand last weekend, going 0-2-0. Losing the first game 3-1, and the second in convincing fashion to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies by a score of 7-2.
               
The 'Horns (6-11-1) go out on the road this week and will take on the University of Regina Cougars (4-14-0). Four points are up for grabs, both teams will be playing desperate hockey to get back into the Canada West playoff picture. The Pronghorns sit seventh in the conference and the Cougars are dead last at eighth. Both are looking to snap losing streaks. The Pronghorns have lost six straight while the Cougars have lost four.
 
Puck drops in Regina, Friday night at 7:00pm and Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm. Both games will also be streamed live on www.canadawest.tv.
 
The Cougars get themselves into penalty trouble often, which explains why they are tied for the most PIM in the conference at 230. In order to capitalize on the undisciplined play of the Cougars and their weak, sixth ranked penalty kill (69.6% efficiency), the 'Horns will need to kick their powerplay into gear, and improve on their seventh ranked 15.3% conversion rate. The 'Horns are on the opposite end of the spectrum with only 144 PIM, but they still struggle on the penalty kill, killing off only 63.0% of penalties called against them. The good news is that the Cougars powerplay is less than threatening, with only a 14.8% success rate.
 
When it comes to goal differential, the Horns take the advantage with a -25 rating, in contrast to the Cougars' -47. Both have similar numbers putting the puck in the oppositions net, as the 'Horns have 51 goals for (5^th in Canada West) and the Cougars 43 (8^th Canada West), but the Cougars have a much harder time keeping the puck out of their own net, with 90 goals against compared to the 'Horns' 76.
 
Players to watch this weekend are Tim Campbell of the Pronghorns, who, as a fourth-year offensive defenseman, has 11 points on the year, nine of them goals. On the other side, Cougars rookie forward J.J. Coleshaw leads his team in points with nine.
 
Next weekend, the Men's Pronghorns hockey team is back home, playing host to the University of Manitoba Bisons.
 
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