A marathon has turned into a short sprint, as just two weeks remain in the longest regular season in WSHL history. With all but two playoff spots already clinched, this weekend will go a long way to deciding who the final two playoff squads will be, as some claw for their playoff lives, while others look to improve their position, as the tempo gets taken up another notch.
Below is a statistical preview of each weekend series/game:
Southern Oregon Spartans (12-27-4, 5th in Northwest Division) @ Missoula Maulers (15-22-4, 4th in Northwest Division)
Three-game series in Missoula, Montana
Southern Oregon Spartans
Home Record: 9-13-1
Away Record: 2-11-3
Neutral Site: 1-3-0
Streak: Won 1
Head-to-head: 3-0-0
Leading Scorer: Arturs Buss (43GP, 13G, 29A, 42P)
Top Goaltender: Ian Dvorak (6-15-1, 4.29 GAA, .873 SV%)
Power Play: 11th (44-222, 19.82%)
Penalty Kill: 19th (159-210, 75.71%)
Missoula Maulers
Home Record: 9-8-1
Away Record: 2-14-3
Neutral Site: 4-0-0
Streak: Lost 12
Head-to-head: 0-3-0
Leading Scorer: Corey Schafer (36GP, 13G, 24A, 37P)
Top Goaltender: Sebastian Gronborg (6-4-1, 2.34 GAA, .917 SV%)
Power Play: 10th (45-221, 20.36%)
Penalty Kill: 9th (144-174, 82.76%)
* Missoula clinches a playoff berth with anything other than three regulation losses over the weekend. A single point would also eliminate Southern Oregon from playoff contention *
El Paso Rhinos (38-2-0, 1st in Midwest Division) @ Tulsa Jr. Oilers (6-34-0, 5th in Midwest Division)
Three-game series in Tulsa, Oklahoma
El Paso Rhinos
Home Record: 18-0-0
Away Record: 18-0-0
Neutral Site: 2-2-0
Streak: Won 18
Head-to-head: 3-0-0
Leading Scorer: Matthew Plesa (36GP, 26G, 54A, 80P)
Top Goaltender: Adam Vay (22-1-0, 1.94 GAA, .932 SV%)
Power Play: 2nd (55-200, 27.50%)
Penalty Kill: 1st (267-296, 90.20%)
Tulsa Jr. Oilers
Home Record: 4-11-0
Away Record: 1-20-0
Neutral Site: 1-3-0
Streak: Lost 19
Head-to-head: 0-3-0
Leading Scorer: Derek Smith (30GP, 10G, 10A, 20P)
Top Goaltender: Adam Salisbury (2-4-0, 7.19 GAA, .846 SV%)
Power Play: 24th (7-171, 4.09%)
Penalty Kill: 24th (130-185, 70.27%)
* El Paso has clinched top seed in Midwest Division, Tulsa has been eliminated from playoff contention *
Colorado Jr. Eagles (23-16-2, 3rd in Mountain Division) @ Dallas Snipers (20-18-2, 4th in Midwest Division)
Three-game series in Plano, Texas
Colorado Jr. Eagles
Home Record: 11-8-1
Away Record: 10-6-1
Neutral Site: 2-2-0
Streak: Won 2
Head-to-head: 2-1-0
Leading Scorer: Levi Weber (41GP, 29G, 21A, 50P)
Top Goaltender: Eric Messer (10-18-0, 3.78 GAA, .895 SV%)
Power Play: 18th (33-185, 17.84%)
Penalty Kill: 7th (194-232, 83.62%)
Dallas Snipers
Home Record: 8-9-1
Away Record: 12-6-0
Neutral Site: 0-3-1
Streak: Won 1
Head-to-head: 1-2-0
Leading Scorer: Emil Melin (39GP, 15G, 35A, 50P)
Top Goaltender: Emil Eriksson (10-10-0, 4.06 GAA, .891 SV%)
Power Play: 14th (44-228, 19.30%)
Penalty Kill: 6th (199-237, 83.97%)
* Colorado and Dallas have both clinched playoff berths, with exact seeding yet to be determined *
Long Beach Bombers (23-18-0, 4th in Western Division) @ Wichita Jr. Thunder (4-35-1, 6th in Midwest Division)
Three-game series in Wichita, Kansas
Long Beach Bombers
Home Record: 14-6-0
Away Record: 6-11-0
Neutral Site: 3-1-0
Streak: Won 9
Head-to-head: 1-0-0
Leading Scorer: Filip Martinec (39GP, 38G, 56A, 94P)
Top Goaltender: Talon Miller (13-9-0, 3.24 GAA, .895 SV%)
Power Play: 1st (56-198, 28.28%)
Penalty Kill: 16th (156-201, 77.61%)
Wichita Jr. Thunder
Home Record: 3-15-0
Away Record: 1-16-1
Neutral Site: 0-4-0
Streak: Lost 22
Head-to-head: 0-1-0
Leading Scorer: Joel Gellvear (40GP, 13G, 27A, 40P)
Top Goaltender: Jake Larson (2-14-1, 6.96 GAA, .857 SV%)
Power Play: 22nd (19-217, 8.76%)
Penalty Kill: 20th (144-199, 72.36%)
* Long Beach leads Lake Tahoe by five points for the #4 playoff spot in the Western Division, Wichita has been eliminated from playoff contention *
Ontario Avalanche (30-9-3, 2nd in Western Division) @ Fresno Monsters (33-5-2, 1st in Western Division)
Three-game series in Fresno, California
Ontario Avalanche
Home Record: 15-4-2
Away Record: 11-5-1
Neutral Site: 4-0-0
Streak: Won 6
Head-to-head: 0-2-1
Leading Scorer: Antoine Maillard (41GP, 35G, 37A, 72P)
Top Goaltender: Daniel Cepila (13-6-0, 3.44 GAA, .904 SV%)
Power Play: 6th (42-199, 21.11%)
Penalty Kill: 12th (166-202, 82.18%)
Fresno Monsters
Home Record: 11-3-2
Away Record: 19-1-0
Neutral Site: 3-1-0
Streak: Won 4
Head-to-head: 3-0-0
Leading Scorer: Mike Nolan (35GP, 25G, 32A, 57P)
Top Goaltender: Austin Piquette (15-2-1, 2.53 GAA, .900 SV%)
Power Play: 7th (48-230, 20.87%)
Penalty Kill: 13th (177-217, 81.57%)
* Ontario and Fresno have both clinched playoff berths and home ice in the opening round of the playoffs, with exact seeding yet to be determined *
Boulder Bison (21-19-0, 4th in Mountain Division) @ Phoenix Knights (26-12-2, 1st in Mountain Division)
Three-game series in Chandler, Arizona
Boulder Bison
Home Record: 10-8-0
Away Record: 11-7-0
Neutral Site: 0-4-0
Streak: Lost 2
Head-to-head: 2-2-0
Leading Scorer: Charles Joly (38GP, 15G, 23A, 38P)
Top Goaltender: Colin Champine (12-11-0, 3.39 GAA, .891 SV%)
Power Play: 15th (38-203, 18.72%)
Penalty Kill: 14th (188-231, 81.39%)
Phoenix Knights
Home Record: 13-3-2
Away Record: 11-7-0
Neutral Site: 2-2-0
Streak: Lost 3
Head-to-head: 2-1-0
Leading Scorer: Mitch Cobby (40GP, 29G, 51A, 80P)
Top Goaltender: Alex Taylor (14-7-1, 3.09 GAA, .901 SV%)
Power Play: 12th (42-212, 19.81%)
Penalty Kill: 8th (163-195, 83.59%)
* Boulder and Phoenix have both clinched playoff berths, with exact seeding yet to be determined *
New Mexico Renegades (5-34-1, 6th in Mountain Division) @ Cheyenne Stampede (25-14-2, 2nd in Mountain Division)
Three-game series in Cheyenne, Wyoming
New Mexico Renegades
Home Record: 1-17-0
Away Record: 3-14-1
Neutral Site: 1-3-0
Streak: Lost 2
Head-to-head: 0-3-0
Leading Scorer: Zach Comfort (34GP, 14G, 8A, 22P)
Top Goaltender: Jacob Garvey (1-2-0, 5.00 GAA, .862 SV%)
Power Play: 23rd (13-214, 6.07%)
Penalty Kill: 22nd (126-177, 71.19%)
Cheyenne Stampede
Home Record: 11-4-2
Away Record: 13-7-0
Neutral Site: 1-3-0
Streak: Won 3
Head-to-head: 3-0-0
Leading Scorer: Alexander Andersson (40GP, 23G, 38A, 61P)
Top Goaltender: Rasmus Hansson (13-4-1, 2.96 GAA, .894 SV%)
Power Play: 3rd (68-251, 27.09%)
Penalty Kill: 15th (174-214, 81.31%)
* Cheyenne has clinched a playoff berth, with exact seeding yet to be determined, while New Mexico has been eliminated from playoff contention *
Salt Lake City Moose (28-12-2, 3rd in Northwest Division) @ Lake Tahoe Blue (19-18-3, 5th in Western Division)
Three-game series played in South Lake Tahoe, California
Salt Lake City Moose
Home Record: 16-4-0
Away Record: 10-7-1
Neutral Site: 2-1-1
Streak: Won 2
Head-to-head: 0-0-0
Leading Scorer: Pat Dwyer (42GP, 25G, 25A, 50P)
Top Goaltender: Brad Robertson (14-4-2, 2.78 GAA, .911 SV%)
Power Play: 19th (35-210, 16.67%)
Penalty Kill: 11th (172-208, 82.69%)
Lake Tahoe Blue
Home Record: 9-8-1
Away Record: 9-7-2
Neutral Site: 1-3-0
Streak: Lost 3
Head-to-head: 0-0-0
Leading Scorer: Edgars Homjakovs (39GP, 16G, 37A, 53P)
Top Goaltender: Troy Turpin (10-9-1, 3.87 GAA, .891 SV%)
Power Play: 21st (32-221, 14.48%)
Penalty Kill: 10th (235-284, 82.75%)
* Salt Lake City has clinched a playoff berth, with exact seeding yet to be determined, while Lake Tahoe is five points behind Long Beach for fourth place in the Western Division *
Dallas Ice Jets (23-14-3, 2nd in Midwest Division) vs. Texas (22-15-3, 3rd in Midwest Division)
Three-game series played Friday in North Richland Hills and Saturday/Sunday in Grapevine, Texas
Dallas Ice Jets
Home Record: 10-7-2
Away Record: 10-6-1
Neutral Site: 3-1-0
Streak: Lost 4
Head-to-head: 1-2-0
Leading Scorer: Chris Schutz (40GP, 38G, 26A, 64P)
Top Goaltender: Tyler Hough (11-4-2, 2.11 GAA, .925 SV%)
Power Play: 16th (50-268, 18.66%)
Penalty Kill: 3rd (190-216, 87.96%)
Texas
Home Record: 11-5-1
Away Record: 9-9-1
Neutral Site: 2-1-1
Streak: Lost 1
Head-to-head: 2-1-0
Leading Scorer: Miguel Caron (39GP, 35G, 29A, 64P)
Top Goaltender: Oliver Eklund (10-5-3, 3.41 GAA, .900 SV%)
Power Play: 17th (44-239, 18.41%)
Penalty Kill: 5th (212-249, 85.14%)
* Both Dallas and Texas have clinched playoff berths, with exact seeding yet to be determined *
San Diego Gulls (8-31-3, 6th in Western Division) vs. Valencia Flyers (24-15-4, 3rd in Western Division)
Home-and-home series played Friday in Valencia and Saturday in Escondido, California
San Diego Gulls
Home Record: 2-15-2
Away Record: 3-15-1
Neutral Site: 3-1-0
Streak: Lost 13
Head-to-head: 1-3-0
Leading Scorer: Michael Leone (41GP, 19G, 31A, 50P)
Top Goaltender: Brody Cavataio (5-13-1, 3.97 GAA, .901 SV%)
Power Play: 9th (43-207, 20.77%)
Penalty Kill: 23rd (113-159, 71.07%)
Valencia Flyers
Home Record: 12-5-2
Away Record: 9-9-2
Neutral Site: 3-1-0
Streak: Lost 5
Head-to-head: 3-1-0
Leading Scorer: Austin Ehrlich (40GP, 22G, 35A, 57P)
Top Goaltender: Mark Becica (19-6-1, 2.65 GAA, .905 SV%)
Power Play: 13th (47-240, 19.58%)
Penalty Kill: 17th (134-173, 77.46%)
* Valencia clinches playoff berth with one point, while San Diego has been eliminated from playoff contention *
