This weekend the TSI World Bees face the Bristol Pitbulls for their away fixture of the weekend on Saturday evening in a must win game and then prepare to take on the Hull Seahawks at the Slough Ice Arena on Sunday evening. 

Bristol Pitbulls 

The Bristol Pitbulls are currently occupying 11th position in the league as they have completed 40 games and from those games they have won 7 of them, lost 29 games and taken 4 of them to overtime but were unable to secure the 2 points but skated away with 1. The Pitbulls are going into this weekend on a long losing streak of 12 games after losing to the Milton Keynes Lightning last weekend and the Sheffield Steeldogs but Bristol are still desperate for their first win of the year. 

The power play unit that has been put out in the 40 games this season has a 27% success rate as they have been able to use 42 out of 158 man advantages they have found themselves on with Brennan Feasey in only 26 games has been able to score the most power play goals for the Pitbulls as he has been able to score 9 goals while also picking up 7 assists while Bristol have been on the power play. Pitbulls’ penalty kill has been 70% effective this season as they have killed 128 out of 183 times when they have been a player down in a game. There have been 4 short-handed goals scored by Bristol this season and they have been scored by Adam Harding, Tanner Butler, Sean Morris and Nik Coric but there have also been 8 short-handed goals scored against the team this season.

There have been 1,554 shots against the Pitbulls’ netminders this season and they are currently facing an average of 39 shots on goal against them per game but they have managed to have 1,287 shots on goal against netminders across the league in their 40 games completed while averaging 32 shots on goal per game. Altogether there have been 129 goals scored by the Pitbulls this season but the teams across the league have been able to score against them 234 times.

The players that the Bees will need to watch out for on Saturday are Mason Lipsey and Brennan Feasey. Mason Lipsey has been able to pick up 15 points in 40 games from 5 goals and 10 assists but has also managed to pick up 3 goals and 2 assists from power play chances. Brennan Feasey only joined Bristol 26 games ago and has already made a massive impact on how the Pitbulls are playing as he has collected 43 points from 28 goals and 15 assists with 9 of those being power play goals and 4 game winning goals for the team. 

Hull Seahawks 

The Hull Seahawks are currently on 51 points from winning 24 games, losing 12 and taking 3 to overtime in 39 games. The Seahawks are going into this weekend after facing an 8-2 loss against the Raiders IHC and due to that loss have now broken their 10 game winning streak.

Hull currently have a power play unit that is roughly 23% effective as they have successfully been able to use 27 out of the 115 man advantage opportunities that the Seahawks have had in the 38 games completed. Their penalty kill is something the Bees will have to try to push past as they have been able to kill 124 out of 158 times Hull have been a player down in games. There have been 5 short-handed goals scored by Emil Svec, Finley Urlick and Bobby Young but on the other side there have also been 9 short-handed goals scored against the Seahawks so far this season. 

The netminding duo for the Seahawks have faced a total of 1,210 shots on goal so far this season altogether and are facing an average of around 32 shots on goal per game, while the Seahawks have managed to have a total of 1,516 shots on goal this season against opposing teams netminder with an average of 40 shots on goal per game. Hull have been able to score 160 goals in 38 games and have had 139 goals scored against them from games completed. 

Going into Sunday’s fixture, the Bees will need to keep a close eye on Owen Burton and Brock Bartholomew. Owen Burton has really had a breakthrough season for the Seahawks with him having a big impact on plays that help build-up chances for the Seahawks. He has managed to secure 10 points from 6 goals and 4 assists. Brock Bartholomew has also had a big impact on the Seahawks’ style of play and has had a positive impact on how Hull play when they are on the power play and penalty kill. He has managed to collect 15 goals and 25 assists adding up to 40 points while only picking up 31 penalty minutes in 37 games for Hull this season.