GAME PREVIEW: WARRIORS AT LETHBRIDGE

Game Preview: Moose Jaw Warriors at Lethbridge Hurricanes

The Warriors begin a three game road trip tonight in Lethbridge. The club will play three games in four nights all in the province of Alberta. With 19 games remaining in the 2011-12 regular season, the Warriors will play 12 on the road.

Cam Braes returns to his old 'skating' grounds at the Enmax Centre for the first time tonight since the trade deadline. Braes a four year veteran came to the Warriors on Jan. 9th in exchange for a first round in this year's draft and a second in next year's draft. In 11 games as a Warrior, Braes has recorded 14 points (6G, 8A). Braes has been strong down the middle and have helped the team continue to build their lead in the East Division.

The Warriors hold a five point in the East Division and trail the Edmonton Oil Kings by six for the top seed in the Conference. The Warriors (32-15-5-1--70 points), take on the Lethbridge Hurricanes (21-33-0-1--43points) at the Enmax Centre tonight in the first of three in Alberta. In their first meeting back in October, the Warriors collected a 3-2 win on home ice. The Warriors earned the two points on a shorthanded goal in the third by former Warrior Sean Aschim. Last season, the Warriors won the four game series 3-1. The Warriors hold a 10-6-1-1 over the last five years between the two clubs.

The Warriors are 7-2-1 their last ten, collecting 15 of a possible 20 points. In the last five games, the Warriors have outscored their opponent's 23-7. Moose Jaw has the most wins in the WHL on home ice with 23 and a road record of 9-12-3. When leading after the first the Warriors are 19-1-2. That unblemished record was broken by the Hitmen Friday, Jan.13th. And when leading after forty minutes, they hold a record of 20-1-4. The one loss held by the Warriors when leading after 40 minutes was tarnished by the Pats on Dec. 9th, 2011. When the Warriors outshoot their opponent they have a 21-7-3-1 record. The Warriors have an 18-4-5-1 record in one goal games. The Warriors have the 8th ranked power play (22.5%) and the 10th best penalty kill (80.6%) in the league. The Moose Jaw Warriors have played in 12 overtime games, second most in the WHL. They have collected 18 points from games in extra time. The Warriors have eight players with 10 or more goals this season and three players with 20+ goals this campaign.

The Warriors finished off the weekend with a strong performance and a win. By defeating the Prince Albert Raiders 7-2, the Warriors moved closer to securing a playoff spot. Quinton Howden had a huge night with the hat trick and an assist to lead his club. Howden's second goal of the night was his 100th of his WHL career. The weekend didn't start the way the club wanted, a 6-2 loss to the Saskatoon Blades on Friday night. The Blades scored five goals to build a lead before Quinton Howden and Eric Arnold scored to cut into the lead. With two meetings in four days, the Warriors topped the Broncos again. This time the score was 5-2 on Saturday night at Mosaic. A four goal second period carried the Warriors to the win.

On Saturday night versus the Prince Albert Raiders, the Warriors Quinton Howden reached a WHL career milestone. With three goals, his second of the night, Howden has scored 100 career WHL regular season goals. Howden busted out of any mini goal scoring slump on Saturday as well. In the month of January, Howden had two goals in 11 games. He has since doubled that output in just two games so far this month with four goals in two games.

The Hurricanes Brady Ramsay led his club in their last meeting with the Warriors scoring both his team's goals. The 19 year-old might be a player to watch on the other side tonight.

Warriors Team Leading Scorers: Braes (30-29-59), Henry (10-42-52), Howden (20-24-44), Beach (12-29-41), Kirsch (17-20-37)

Hurricanes Team Scoring Leaders: Sutter (22-24-46), Buonassisi (14-23-37), Tot (11-20-31), Ramsay (18-12-30), Hood (10-18-28)

Catch all the action live on Prairie Mobile Warriors Hockey on Country 100FM with the voice of the Warriors James Gallo. Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/mjwarriors and Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/MJWARRIORS