While changes to the National Basketball League of Canada schedule can, and have, been a source of frustration for Logan Stutz, the Sudbury Five’s head coach and general manager had little trouble looking on the bright side after a two-game swing to storm-battered Newfoundland was postponed earlier this week.

Instead of visiting the St. John’s Edge this past Tuesday and Wednesday, the Five will head there April 15 and 16.

“Our guys needed some rest and relax time, which is fine,” said Stutz, whose squad had played five straight away from Sudbury Community Arena before a pair of wins on home court last weekend. “We’re trying to use the schedule change to our benefit and we’ll find out more this weekend, but I think it’s going to work out to our benefit.”

The Five, owners of a 5-4 record and third in the NBLC’s Central Division, host the Windsor Express, who sit at 5-3 and in second place, this coming Sunday at 2 p.m.

“Same thing we have been doing,” said Stutz, when asked about his expectations for the coming contest. “Running and gunning, having fun, putting some points up and getting a win in front of our home crowd.”

Sudbury is 2-1 on its hometown hardwood this season. Windsor is 2-2 on the road and is riding a three-game win streak.

Though one of the league’s lower-scoring teams with 105.1 points per game, compared to Sudbury’s league-high 124.4, the Express is the NBLC’s stingiest outfit on defence, with an even 100 points against per game. The Five, at the other end of the spectrum, have given up 119.3, though their differential of 46 points is slightly better than Windsor’s 41.

“They’re definitely bigger than us, they have some good guys down low, and they want to play at a slower pace,” Stutz said. “So we’ll see who controls the pace of the game.”

He hopes the addition of Canadian guard Jarryn Skeete, signed by Sudbury on Thursday, will fit well with the team’s up-tempo style.

A 26-year-old Brampton native and alumnus of the State University of New York in Buffalo, Skeete boasts three seasons of NBLC experience, first for the Cape Breton Highlanders, then St. John’s.

The 6-foot-3, 175-pounder averaged nine points, 3.7 rebounds. 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game during St. John’s run to the league final last spring.

“He’s a ball-handler and someone who can help us with our backcourt,” Stutz said. “We had an open roster spot and we saw it as a good fit.

“He wants to come here and he wants to develop. He’s a team guy and we’ll see what he can do for us.”

Skeete practised with the Five this week and is expected to play on Sunday.

“I’m excited to be here,” Skeete said on Friday. “It seems like a really great group of guys and I think I’m going to fit in perfect.”

He has known Sudbury’s star point guard, Braylon Rayson, for a couple of years now, and his familiarity with Stutz goes back a little further, to when Sudbury’s bench boss was a standout forward for the Express.

“I know he’s a player’s coach and that’s who I like to play with, people who let the players have freedom on the court,” Skeete said.

He rated his basketball IQ, ability to share the basketball and his team-first attitude among his greatest strengths.

“I just want to do as well as I can and win a championship in this league,” he said.

bleeson@postmedia.com

Twitter: @ben_leeson