Overview:
The Victoria Royals are heading into this weekend riding a one-game winning streak. After losing on opening night in Vancouver, the Royals bounced back the next night with a 5-3 victory against the Giants on home ice. Brandon Magee scored the game-winning goal and goaltender Keith Hamilton made 48 saves for the victory.
Who’s Up Front:
20-year-old forward Robin Soudek leads the way with two goals and three points so far for Victoria. Soudek is the only Royal that has scored more than once so far this season. The Cats will also need to be mindful of Steven Hodges and Kevin Sundher who have both notched three points in their first two games in 2011-2012.
Who’s on D:
The Victoria Royals have a BIG group of d-men. 16-year-old Keegan Kanzig is a monster at 6’5 and 229 pounds. Add the likes of Zach Habscheid (6’4, 211), Jesse Zgraggen (6’1, 209), Tyler Stahl (6’2, 215) and Kade Pilton (6’5, 186) and you’ve got a group of d-men that certainly do not lack any size.
Who’s in Goal:
19-year-old Keith Hamilton got the call on Saturday and did not disappoint for Victoria in a 5-3 win over Vancouver. Hamilton made 48 saves in victory, and will likely see one of the two games this weekend. The other two goaltenders are 20-year-old Braden Gamble and 17-year-old Jared Rathjen (who hails from Prince George)
X-Factor:
20-year-old defenceman Hayden Rintoul brings a wealth of experience and poise to the Victoria blueline. Rintoul was acquired this summer from the Kootenay Ice. Rintoul enjoyed championship success with Kootenay last season, and will likely see a ton of big minutes against the top forwards of the Cats.
Overview:
The Prince George Cougars are coming off a spirited 1-0 victory Saturday in Kamloops. Charles Inglis scored the loan goal while Drew Owsley recorded a 32-save shutout.
Who’s Up Front:
The trio of Charles Inglis, Troy Bourke and Nick Buonassisi looked good together in Kamloops and will likely be counted upon again to provide offense for the Cats this weekend. With the departure of Taylor Makin, a spot has now opened up alongside Brock Hirsche and Spencer Asuchak, which maybe provides an opportunity for Alex Forsberg or Jordan Tkatch to embrace a more offensive role. We’ll soon see what head coach Dean Clark has in mind.
Who’s on D:
The return of Martin Marincin should greatly aid the Cougars power play which went 0-5 on Saturday. Marincin is gifted offensively, but also provides great size and strength on the back-end. Marincin will likely see plenty of ice-time against the top forwards of the Victoria Royals. Add the fact that Cody Carlson and Dan Gibb are coming off a stellar performance against Kamloops, and Dean Clark has no shortage of options defensively in key situations.
Who’s in Goal:
After making 32 saves on Saturday and receiving the game’s first star award, Drew Owsley will look for a similar outing at home against the Royals. Owsley was nominated for the CHL Goaltender of the Week, and will be heading into this weekend with plenty of confidence. Now he’ll need some more help offensively as winning 1-0 on most nights is not an easy thing to do.
X-Factor:
Special teams will be very important this weekend. The Cougars were a perfect seven-for-seven killing penalties on Saturday, but struggled getting the power play going. If the Cats can bury one or two on the man-advantage and get some confidence brewing on the power play, the Cougars have a great shot at ending the evening with a 2-0 record.
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