Get ready for a showdown.
The Everett Silvertips and the Kelowna Rockets are about to throw down in a heavyweight twinbill. The teams play twice this weekend in Kelowna, on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s game is televised in the Pacific Northwest on ROOT Sports starting at 7 p.m.
In one corner is Kelowna, owner of the WHL’s best record and considered by everyone as the team to beat for the league title.
In the other corner is Everett, the leader in the U.S. Division and the league’s hottest team.
Here’s the tale of the tape:
Record: Everett 30-12-3-1; Kelowna 34-8-3-0.
Goals for/against: Everett 156/113; Kelowna 190/114.
Streak: Everett 6-0-0-0; Kelowna 0-1-0-0.
Last 10: Everett 9-1-0-0; Kelowna 7-3-0-0.
Last game: Everett won 4-1 at Prince George on Wednesday; Kelowna lost 5-2 at home against Seattle last Friday.
Head to head: Kelowna leads the four-game season series 1-0.
Last meeting: Kelowna won 5-4 in overtime at Everett on Oct. 3.
Power play: Everett 24.6 percent, third in the WHL; Kelowna 27.0 percent, first in the WHL.
Penalty kill: Everett 77.3, 18th in the WHL; Kelowna 80.2 percent, 10th in the WHL.
Leading scorer: Everett’s Nikita Scherbak (21 goals, 36 assists); Kelowna’s Nick Merkley (14 goals, 50 assists).
Most goals: Everett’s Kohl Bauml (23); Kelowna’s Rourke Chartier (38).
Top defenseman: Everett’s Ben Betker (three goals, 19 assists); Kelowna’s Madison Bowey (10 goals, 29 assists).
No. 1 goalie: Everett’s Austin Lotz (20-9-1-1, 2.45 goals against average, .912 save percentage); Kelowna’s Jackson Whistle (26-7-3-0, 2.46 goals against average, .915 save percentage).
Some other things to note:
– Everett will be battling fatigue in these two games as they finish off a grueling four-in-five road trip that began with wins at Prince George on Tuesday and Wednesday. Meanwhile, Kelowna has been awaiting Everett for a week, having not played since last Friday.
– Kelowna’s Rourke Chartier, the league leader in goals, is considered questionable for the two games because of an upper-body injury.
– Both teams are expecting to get a key player back just in time for Friday’s game. Tips defenseman Noah Juulsen and Rockets playmaker Nick Merkley are both taking part in the CHL Top Prospects Game on Thursday in the Toronto suburb of St. Catharines. They will be on the same flight to Kelowna on Friday morning.
– Here are the full individual statistics for the Silvertips and the Rockets.
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