Chilliwack at Kelowna Preview

January 18, 2007

Mark Santorelli leads the Bruins with 7 points vs Kelowna this season - Bob Frid photo

BRUINS @ ROCKETS, LIVE ON SHAW -- The Kelowna Rockets (27-14-2-4) welcome B.C. Division rivals the Chilliwack Bruins (21-19-3-1) in one of 10 Western Hockey League contests on Friday, January 18th.

Friday night’s contest between the Rockets and bruins can be seen live throughout western Canada on SHAW (7:00 pm PST).

The Rockets saw their seven-game winning streak halted with a 5-3 defeat in Kamloops on Tuesday, but remain comfortably in second place in the B.C. Division and fourth in the Western Conference. The Rockets lead all WHL teams with 172 goals so far this season. The Rockets boast a 12-2-0-1 record on home ice since October 24th.

The Bruins are coming off a 5-2 victory over visiting Seattle on Wednesday, snapping a two-game losing skid, and currently sit in third place in the B.C. Division and sixth place in the Western Conference. The Bruins are 4-9-1-1 in their last 15 games on the road. Mark Santorelli notched four assists in Wednesday’s win over Seattle, moving him into a tie with Kelowna’s Colin Long for the WHL scoring lead.

It’s the sixth meeting of the season between the Rockets and Bruins. The Rockets won four of five previous meetings with the Bruins this season.

Bruins Stats / Game Notes

Win / Loss Record:

Overall Record 21-19-3-1

Home Record: 13-10-0-0

Road Record: 8-9-3-1

Friday Record: 5-4-3-0

January Record: 3-2-0-0

vs Kelowna 07/08: 1-3-1-0

vs Kelowna All Time: 5-7-1-0

at Kelowna All Time: 1-4-1-0

2007/08 Power Play:

Overall: 4th  48/231 (20.8%)

Home: 13th  22/127 (17.3%)

Away: 1st  26/104 (25.0%)

vs Kelowna: 5/22 (22.7%)

SHGA: 5

2007/08 Penalty Killing:

Overall: 8th  207/249 (83.1%)

Home: 6th  110/129 (85.3%)

Away: 10th  97/120 (80.8%)

vs Kelowna: 16/20 (80.0%)

SHGF: 3

2007/08 Bruins Regular Season Leaders:

Goals: Oscar Moller (26)

Assists: Mark Santorelli (48)

Points: Mark Santorelli (69)  

Powerplay Goals: 11 – Brandon Campos (1 with Everett, 10 with Chilliwack)

Powerplay assists: Mark Santorelli (27) 

Powerplay points: Mark Santorelli (36)  

Shorthanded Goals: Mike Proudley / Mark Santorelli / Brandon Campos (1)

Plus/Minus: Mark Santorelli (+12)

Penalty Minutes: Chris Van Duynhoven (60)

Wins: Matt Esposito (16) 

Goals Against Average: Mark Friesen (2.66)

Shutouts: Matt Esposito (1)

Save Percentage: Mark Friesen (91.1%)

Bruins in the top ten:

Points: Mark Santorelli Tied 1st (69)

Goals: Oscar Moller Tied 5th (26)

Assists: Mark Santorelli  2nd (48)

PP Goals: Brandon Campos Tied 4th (11) /  Oscar Moller Tied 9th (10)

PP Assists: Mark Santorelli 1st (27)

First Goals: Mark Santorelli  Tied 2nd (6)

Defenceman Points: Nick Holden Tied 5th (36)

Roster Notes: The Bruins currently have 22 players on their active roster including two goaltenders, six defencemen and fourteen forwards. By age, Chilliwack has two 16 year olds (Howse, Ramsay), seven 17 year olds (Robinson, Metz, Darragh, Einhorn, Friesen, Strong, McNaught), seven 18 year olds (Meropoulis, Potter, Proudley, Smuk, Moller, Van Duynhoven, Esposito), three 19 year olds (Santorelli, Bhungal, Pighin) and three 20 year olds (Campos, Holden, Chapman).

Drafted Players: Mark Santorelli (Nashville 4th round 2007) Oscar Moller (Los Angeles 2nd round 2007)

Injuries: Partik Bhungal (leg) - indefinite

Scoring Race: Bruins forward Mark Santorelli is tied with Kelowna’s Colin Long for first in WHL scoring with 69 points. Despite missing eight games while at the World Junior Hockey Championships, Oscar Moller is 10th in league scoring with 53 points. Moller was a member of the silver medal winning team from Sweden.

Iron Men: Cody Smuk and Mark Santorelli are the only two players to have appeared in every game the Bruins have played. Including five playoff games, both have played in 20 consecutive games. Santorelli, Smuk and Nick Holden are the only Bruins to have played in all 44 games this season.

Bruins Deal: The Chilliwack Bruins made three trades last week. The Bruins acquired 17 year old defenseman Matt Strong from the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for 18 year old forward Colby Kulhanek. Strong, (6’2” 200 lbs), made his Bruins debut last Wednesday in Kelowna.

The Chilliwack Bruins also made a pair of deals on Wednesday, trading defenseman Matt McCue (1988) to the Brandon Wheat Kings in return for the Wheat Kings 4th Round Draft Pick in the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft and sending defenseman Cody Hobbs (1989) to the Prince George Cougars in exchange for the Cougars 7th round pick in 2007.

McCue, a native of Cochrane, AB, joined the Bruins midway through last season and has played a total of 74 games for the Bruins, scoring 2 goals and nine assists and amassing 182 PIM.  ‘With the abundance of young defense on our club, the Bruins have placed an importance on making sure that these younger players get the ice time needed to develop,’ comments Bruins GM Darrell May.  ‘We would like to thank Matt for all of his contributions, both on and off the ice, and wish him success with his new team in Brandon.’

Hobbs, a native of Prince Albert, SK, played in 54 games over two seasons with the Bruins, registering 10 assists and 58 PIM in that span.  ‘This move for Cody will allow him the opportunity to play more regularly.  We wish Cody the best in Prince George,’ comments Bruins General Manager Darrell May.

The Bruins also released defenseman David Hoda.

McNaught Added: The Bruins have added 17 year old forward Randy McNaught to their active roster. McNaught joins the Bruins from the Nanaimo Clippers of the BCHL. In 25 games with the Clippers this season, McNaught recorded 2 goals and 3 assists to go with 54 penalty minutes. McNaught made his Bruins debut last Wednesday night in Kelowna.

Career Highs: Nick Holden has set new career highs this season with 11 goals and 36 points. Last season, in 67 games, Holden scored eight times and finished with 31 points. Matt Esposito has set a new personal best and Bruins team record with 16 wins.

Pighin Awarded: 19 year old forward Evan Pighin has been named the Bruins Player of the Month for December. In 11 games in December, Pighin scored six times and added five assists. On December 4th vs Prince George Pighin had a personal best four points (2g 2a).

After forty tells the story: Chilliwack has a record of 15-1-0-0 when leading after forty minutes of play. When trailing after two periods, the Bruins are 1-15-1-0.

Moller at World Juniors: Bruins forward Oscar Moller won a silver medal with Team Sweden at the World Junior Championships that ended Saturday in the Czech Republic. Sweden was defeated by Canada in overtime in the Gold Medal Game. Moller, a 2nd round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the 2007 NHL had three goals and two assists in six games during the tournament. Moller leads the Bruins with 26 goals this season.

Extra Time: The Bruins are 1-3 in overtime and 3-1 in shootouts this season.