Gameday: Rebels @ Border Bruins

A trip over the Paulson this afternoon for the Rebels as they visit Grand Forks tonight. Castlegar looks to add to their current 8-game winning streak against the 4-17 Border Bruins, who lost 9-3 at Beaver Valley on Wednesday night. The Rebels haven't played since Sunday afternoon when they beat Golden 8-1.

I'm planning on making the trip over with the team this afternoon, so expect tonight's recap (as well as the one to be posted on castlegarnews.com) to be a bit more meaty than your typical away game.

Last Meeting: The Rebels won in their last trip to the Boundary, 5-2 on October 16th. They've taken all three meetings thus far this season, outscoring the Border Bruins 16-5.

Our Opponent: Grand Forks, despite their record, have had impressive showings in the last two weeks. An overtime win over Creston Valley and a 5-2 win over the Nitehawks last week upped their win total to four; Grand Forks had only 6 wins last year, and all of their victories this season have come on home ice. Belarussian imports Artsiom and Yan Kalashnikov are starting to adjust to life in the KIJHL. The latter now sits second in team scoring (6-10-16) behind Salmon Arm product Zach Thompson.

Roster Notes: Forward Ryan Aynsley should be in the lineup, he did not make the trip to Prince George and Quesnel with the Trail Smoke Eaters. Defenceman Matt Ridley was also not on the gamesheet in last night's Westside/Prince George game in the Cariboo. Erik Wentzel tells me he is close to returning from an upper body injury that kept him out of the lineup last weekend.

Next 5:
Sat. Nov. 13 vs. Creston Valley, 7:30 PM
Fri. Nov. 19 vs. Kamloops, 7:30 PM
Sat. Nov. 20 vs. Columbia Valley, 7:30 PM
Fri. Nov. 26 @ Osoyoos, 7:35 PM
Sat. Nov. 27 @ Nelson, 7:00 PM

Out of Town: Nelson visits Beaver Valley (7:30, Beaver Valley Arena) in a battle for Neil Murdoch Division positioning. The Nitehawks and Rebels are technically tied in the standings with 30 points, though Castlegar has 5 games in hand. Spokane will be without leading scorer Mitch Fowler (suspended) tonight when they visit the Golden Rockets. Tomorrow's opponent, the Creston Valley Thunder Cats, are home to the Penticton Lakers tonight.