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Weekend Preview

by Jacob Bestebroer
November 23, 2017

As Chandler Bing would say, “Could this weekend BE any tougher for the Chiefs?”

The Chiefs take to the road this weekend for games against the Wenatchee Wild Friday and Penticton Vees Saturday.

Chilliwack defeated Wenatchee 5-4 on home ice earlier this season but the Wild are extremely tough at home. Last season on home ice they went undefeated in regulation during the regular season. Their only two losses were in overtime, both of which came at the hands of the Chiefs. They then lost a pair of home games to Chilliwack in the second round playoff series that the Chiefs won in four straight.  This year, they 9-2-0-0 on home ice.

Special teams could play a big factor in this game. Wenatchee has the league’s third best home ice power play with a success rate of 23.1%. They’ve also got a very impressive special teams plus minus of +28 on home ice. They’ve had 69 power plays and have been shorthanded just 41 times.

Chilliwack is 6-6-1-1 on the road this season with a power play that ranks 14th (13.6%) while their penalty kill away from home sits 5th (84.6%). They’ve been shorthanded 78 times while getting just 59 chances with a man advantage for a plus minus rate of -19.

Saturday’s game is the second meeting of the season between the Chiefs and Vees. Penticton won the first meeting by a score of 6-3 at the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack in September.

The Vees are once again the Vees. They recently went through a stretch where they picked up just one win and one tie in seven games but they’ve now won five straight during which they outscored their opponents 34-7. Their home record this year is 8-2-1-1. In the five seasons prior to this one, no BCHL team has a better record on home ice (120-24-7-5).