Busy Weekend.

I am in the midst of a busy weekend of music and writing. Yesterday, the Midgets pulled together and gutted out a 7-2 win vs the Outlook Hawks. (The score says otherwise, but the score doesn't indicate how close the game actually was.) More of a re-cap to come on Monday.

Today, however, I'll be the "Rink Rat", starting at 5pm when the Novice Outlaws take on North Battleford in a game deemed the Challenge Cup. Following that, the Senior Outlaws take to the SaskCan ice against the Winnipeg..... er.. I mean, the Maidstone Jets. The broadcasting face of the North Stars, Dan O'Connor, will be on hand to broadcast the game. Puck drops at 8pm

Quick Keys to the game for both teams:

Maidstone:

• Stop the All-Stars: Wilkie has three stars including Barrett Penner. You can try and shut down the top line, however, your defense will need to be up to the task all night. Wilkie can run three legit lines, and they can score on a regular basis.
• Stop the "run": The best puck handling goalie in this league is Nick Pernitsky. Dump the puck in smartly so Pernitsky doesn't have time to play it. That way, you can set up your attack with less difficulty.

Wilkie:

• Rattle the Cage: Maidstone is 8-0 on the road this season. The Outlaw grinders need to get into MacDonald's grill early and often. He's started all the games this year as well, and he may be starting to wear down a bit.
• Defense Wins Championships: As I understand it, Wilkie be missing a D-man tonight, so Defense must come first against the high flying Jets top line. After Ryan Johnston (21 G), Jason Roberts (16 G), and Brett Harrison (26 G), the next top scorers only has 7 goals. You contain the top line, and chances are that you can pull the rug out off a possible Jets take-off.