The La Ronge Ice Wolves will make the trek to Pinehouse on Thursday to battle the Yorkton Terriers in a neutral-site affair.
This year will mark the fifth straight season the Ice Wolves have played in Pinehouse. The Ice Wolves have faced off with the Battlefords North Stars the last four seasons in Pinehouse. The Ice Wolves dimmed the North Stars 3-1 last year. La Ronge is 1-3 in Pinehouse over the last four seasons.
Clarence Iron works at CFNK Radio in Pinehouse. He says the community is looking forward to the game.
“I’ve always said that not many other northern communities have this opportunity to have an SJHL game in the far north, so we are very excited about it,” said Iron.
The Ice Wolves will be looking for their second straight win after blanking the Melfort Mustangs 3-0 Saturday at home.
The Ice Wolves are 1-2 versus the Yorkton Terriers this season. The last time those teams met, it was the Terriers skating away with a 3-2 win in a shootout Nov. 22 in Yorkton.
“They fly the zone really good, they have a bunch of high-end forwards,” said James Philpott, a defenceman with the Ice Wolves. “(Chantz) Petruic, it’s no secret he’s having a good year. (Alec) Zawatsky also is pretty shifty when he gets behind you. You just got to stay in front of him and know who you are on the ice against at all times.”
Heading into Wednesday’s action in the SJHL, the Ice Wolves were sitting in seventh in the very crowded SJHL standings, while the Terriers were fourth. La Ronge trails Yorkton by just four points.
You can catch Thursday’s game from Pinehouse on MBC Network Radio with Braden Malsbury. The pre-game show is slated to get underway at 7:15 p.m.
The Ice Wolves will close out their week Friday at home when they host the Flin Flon Bombers at the Mel Hegland Uniplex.
(PHOTO: The Ice Wolves celebrate their win last year in Pinehouse. File photo.)