Final Month Opens Against Amherstburg
Lakeshore, ON - A busy final month of the regular season kicks off with a busy weekend starting tonight for the Lakeshore Canadiens.
Lakeshore (22-6-1) hosts the Amherstburg Admirals (23-10-0) at 7:00pm at the Atlas Tube Centre, which shapes up to be a battle for 2nd place in the PJHL's Stobbs Division.
The Canadiens enter the game undefeated in their last eight games (7-0-1), while Amherstburg has won two straight.
Coming into action tonight, Essex leads the Stobbs with 49 points, Amherstburg follows with 46 and the Canadiens have 45.
But the catch is in the games played.
Lakeshore has played four games less than both the 73's and Admirals, essentially controlling their own destiny as they prepare for their final 11 regular season games.
"Our guys understand the situation we are in with so many games in hand," Canadiens Head Coach, Justin Solcz says. "We just have to continue executing our game plan and keep our compete level high and we have a chance to win every night."
This will be the fourth time the Canadiens and Admirals have hooked up this season, with the regular schedule series 2-1 in favour of Amherstburg.
They will also square off in what could be a very important game for both teams on the regular season finale on January 29th.
The Canadiens will also have a new face in the lineup tonight after acquiring Nick Tavolieri-Essex from the Wheatley Sharks this week.
The addition of Tavolieri-Essex, along with James Brooks from Amherstburg has Solcz excited about this club.
"Obviously when you bring in two great players with extensive experience in this league, it's huge." Solcz says, "But nothing changes for us, we rely on all 23 guys equally every night and we have the same expectations for Nick and James."
Lakeshore will quickly turn the page after tonight's game and prepare for a contest tomorrow night, Saturday, January 7th, when they host Wheatley (14-17-1) at 7:00pm.
Overall, the Canadiens will play 11 games in 23 days to wrap up the 2016-2017 regular season.
"This schedule is similar to what we'll be seeing come playoff time," Solcz points out. "Our practices will be shorter but more efficient and our guys will have to take care of themselves on and off the ice."
