LETHBRIDGE – Heading into the mid point of the Canada West schedule, the Lethbridge Pronghorn men's hockey team is facing an important weekend with valuable points on the line, taking on the Mount Royal Cougars in a home-and-home series.
 
The Pronghorns will host the Cougars Friday night at Nicholas Sheran Arena, puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m., and the back half of the series will go Saturday night in Calgary at 6:00 p.m. Tickets for Friday night can be purchased online at https://uleth.universitytickets.com/w/default.aspx. Both games will also be streamed live on www.canadawest.tv.
 
A look at the teams
 
Entering the weekend, the Pronghorns (4-7-1) are two points behind the Cougars for fifth place in the conference standings and only five points out of fourth.
 
While the Pronghorns lost both games to the Alberta Golden Bears last weekend, they did pick up an important point on Saturday in the overtime loss.
 
Statistically, the Pronghorns are ranked sixth in goals for with 29 and fifth in goals against, allowing 42 against. Specialty teams have been one area in need of improvement if the Pronghorns are going to have success in the second half of the season. The power play is ranked seventh at 9.8% and the penalty killing is ranked eighth at 77.1%.
 
The Cougars (4-5-3) head into this weekend's matchup riding a four game losing streak after being swept last weekend by the conference leading Saskatchewan Huskies.
 
Through 12 games, the Cougars sit ranked tied for fourth in goals for with 34 and have allowed the fourth fewest goals against at 33. With the specialty teams, the Cougars have the fifth best power play (14.8%) and have the sixth ranked penalty killing (80%) but are tied for the conference lead in shorthanded goals with three.
 
Players to watch
 
After a slow start on the stat sheet, Justin Valentino enters the weekend with points in four straight games. In the last four games, Valentino has registered one goal and six assists and leads the Pronghorns this season with 11 points in 12 games.
 
Torrin White has also recorded points in four straight contests and has four goals and two assists in that stretch after missing six games due to injury.
 
The Pronghorns have received solid goaltending this season and both Garett Hughson and Taz Burman are among the top four Canada West goaltenders in save percentage. Hughson has made 11 appearances and sits tied for third at 0.923.
 
A freshman, Burman sits second with a 0.933 save percentage in four appearances.
 
For the Cougars, freshman Colton Kroeker leads the Cougars in scoring. The former Kootenay Ice captain has five goals and six assists this season.
 
Chris Gerrie sits second in Cougar scoring with four goals and five assists, after recording only a goal and three assists in 12 games last season. He also played one season with Michigan Tech in the NCAA.
 
Up Next:
 
The Pronghorns will wrap up the first semester of conference action next weekend, traveling to Vancouver to face the UBC Thunderbirds.