Wolf Pack vs Whalers: Round 1, Game 4 Preview

Tonight at Centennial Arena, the series shifts from the North Shore out south to White Rock. The Whalers took Game 1 and Game 3 and have a 2-1 series lead as they host the Wolf Pack at 7:45 p.m.

 

WHITE ROCK WHALERS

OVERVIEW:

Head Coach: Jason Rogers

Record: 2-1

Home Record: 1-0

Goals For/ Goals Against: 13 GF/ 7 GA  +6

Power Play: 1/12 (8.3%)

Penalty Kill: 0/12 (100%)

 

Leading Scorers: Zachary Sherwin (3GP-2G-5A, 7P), Chris Fortems (3GP-2G-2A-4P), Jacob Dorohoy (2GP-1G-3A-4P)

 

HIGH ‘REGARD’

The White Rock Whalers have a 2-1 series lead in their first-round series against the Wolf Pack thanks to Jayson Beauregard. Ryden Matheson sent the puck in on goal from the right boards and Cole Svendson found the loose puck after it hit bodies in front of Perovic before sealing the game at 3:24 into the overtime period. Beauregard, a 5’11″, left-shot forward from Burnaby, BC comes into today’s game with 3 points (1G, 2A) which is fifth amongst his team in postseason scoring. Beauregard began his PJHL career with the Whalers who he played one game for before playing just under three seasons with the Port Moody Panthers. Beauregard was a teammate of the Wolf Pack’s Donovan Griffin, but that friendship has come to an end.

 

TIME TO ‘CRUZ’

Caleb Cruz

2004-born defenceman Caleb Cruz has shown a flair for the dramatic in his first PJHL season, and Game 2 in North Vancouver was no exception. With the Whalers trailing 3-1 with just under five minutes remaining in regulation Caleb Cruz brought his team one goal closer to tying the game. Caleb Cruz’s shot from the slot snuck past the blocker of Damian Perovic and in to make it a 3-2 game with the Wolf Pack still leading. Zachary Sherwin and Cole Svendson picked up the assists on the last goal of the night and the first Playoff goal for Cruz. Cruz picked up 15 points (4G-11A) in 33 regular-season games with the Whalers this season and has two points (1G-1A) in three postseason games.

 

NORTH VANCOUVER WOLF PACK

OVERVIEW:

Head Coach: Matt Samson

Record: 1-2

Road Record: 0-1

Goals For/ Goals Against: 7 GF / 13 GA   -6

Power Play: 0/12

Penalty Kill: 11/12 (91.67%)

 

Leading Scorers:  

Ryan Hunter (3GP-1G-3A-4P), Donovan Griffin (3GP-2G-1A-3P)

Ben Thornley-Hall (3GP-0G-2A-2P)

 

A ‘HALL’ OF A GUY

Ben Thornley-Hall, one of seven defenceman on the Wolf Pack, has been quietly good for his team since the beginning of the Playoffs. The 2004-born product of Coquitlam, BC entered the post-season with 2 goals and 18 assists for 20 points in 41 games and now has two assists in three games of Playoff hockey. Thornley-Hall is a shyer player in his Pack but is a reliable one as he can play at both sides of the ice.

 

‘TURN ON THE POWER’ PLAY

Special teams for the Wolf Pack this series have been good on the penalty kill while the power play is still looking for its first goal.

The Wolf Pack have been able to kill eleven of the twelve penalties that they have taken throughout the last three games. The lone Whalers goal that was scored on the man-advantage came back in Game 1. Dorohoy and Fortems snagged assists on Beauregard’s first of the playoffs on the Power Play at 13:42. Beauregard’s shot near the left faceoff circle snuck past the blocker of Perovic.

At the other end, the Wolf Pack Power Play finished near the middle of the league (8th) during the regular season with a 20.5% success rate. JJ Pickell led his team with 14 Power Play goals, he has no points in the last three games, and the Wolf Pack has no goals on the Power Play. Last game the Wolf Pack had a Power Play at the beginning of the second period and the Whalers were able to score short-handed. Cameron Newson scored the goal which was his first goal of the Playoffs. 

 

NOTES

  • Donovan Griffin is the only player on the Wolf Pack with two goals so far in this series and the only player two score twice in the same game for the Pack
  • Six different players have scored for North Vancouver over the past three games
  • Zachary Sherwin and Chris Fortems are the only players on the Whalers who have scored twice in this series
  • Eleven different players have scored for the White Rock Whalers over the past three games

 

Round 1 Playoffs Schedule:

GAME 1: Tuesday, February 15 @ 7:45

GAME2: Saturday, February 19 @ 7:00

GAME 3: Sunday, February 20 @ 7:00

GAME 4: Tuesday, February 22 @ 7:45

GAME 5: Saturday, February 26 @ 7:00

GAME 6*: TBD

GAME 7*: TBD

* IF NECESSARY