LETHBRIDGE – As the schedule moves past the midway mark and the semester break on the horizon, the Lethbridge Pronghorn men's hockey team hosts the Manitoba Bisons for a pair of games with valuable points on the line and definite playoff implications.
 
The Pronghorns and Bisons square off at Nicholas Sheran Arena Friday night at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on www.canadawest.tv, presented by Co-op.
 
During the opening weekend of the season, the Pronghorns and Bisons split their series in Winnipeg. Manitoba won the opening game 2-0 and the Pronghorns picked up a 5-4 win to close the weekend.
 
A look at the teams
 
Through 14 games, the Pronghorns (4-9-1) sit in seventh place, one point behind the UBC Thunderbirds for the final playoff spot. The Pronghorns are also four points back of the Bisons for fifth.
 
In their last action, the Pronghorns dropped both games to the Calgary Dinos in a home-and-home series but picked up a valuable point in Friday's overtime loss.
 
Statistically, the Pronghorns sit seventh in goals for with 32 goals scored and eighth in goals against allowing 65 against. The Pronghorns power play sits ranked third at 26.2% but they have had the fewest power play opportunities in the conference.
 
Landon Gross leads the Pronghorns in scoring with four goals and seven assists, while freshmen Luke Coleman and Michael Clark have had good starts to their Pronghorn careers with five and four goals respectively.
 
The Bisons (6-7-1) come to Lethbridge following a split with the U SPORTS second ranked Alberta Golden Bears. The Bisons lost 2-0 before rebounding with a 5-3 win over Canada West's top team.
 
With 41 goals scored thus far, the Bisons are ranked fifth in the conference and sit sixth in goals against, allowing 48 goals against. Both of the Bisons speciality team units rank near the bottom in the conference. The power play (19.7%) ranks seventh and penalty killing (71.6%) sits last in Canada West.
 
The Bisons rely on a balanced attack with seven players having scored at least three goals, but defenceman Adam Hendry leads the Bisons in scoring with six goals and eight assists. His 14 points places him in a tie for second in Canada West defencemen scoring.
 
Up next
 
The conference schedule stops after this weekend for the semester break, the Pronghorns will return to action January 3^rd and 4^th, traveling to Regina to face the Regina Cougars.