Overview:
Last season the Regina Pats missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season, but have jumped quickly of of the gate in 2011-2012. New Head Coach Pat Conacher has his club playing a strong and well-rounded game. The Pats have only surrendered 16 goals against in their first six games while they’ve scored 25 times.
Who’s Up Front:
LA Kings prospect Jordan Weal leads the way for Regina with 10 points through six games. Weal has managed just two goals in that span, but has continued to define himself as one of the WHL’s premiere play-makers. In fact one of the most impressive facts about the Regina Pats is that they seem to score by committee every night. Their leading goal-scoerer is Dyson Stevenson who has three.
Who’s on D:
20-year-old defenceman Brandon Davidson is off to a fine start this season. He’s tallied one goal and seven points so far, and has held it together defensively. He’s a +2 to start the season and I would expect to see lots of Davidson tonight.
Who’s in Goal:
For a third straight game, the Prince George Cougars run the risk of facing a red-hot goaltender. 19-year-old Matt Hewitt is 5-0 on the season and has provided exceptional netminding for the Regina Pats so far this season. He’s got a goals against average of 2.16 and a save percentage over .92. That being said, it will be two games in two nights for the Pats as well, and they may decide to dress backup Adam Beukeboom. Beukeboom is 0-1 this season, with a save percentage of .846.
X-Factor:
16-year-old Morgan Klimchuk has identical numbers to Prince George Cougars 16-year-old Alex Forsberg. Klimchuk’s two goals and four assists puts him alone in fifth for team scoring. The Pats boast several offensive weapons, and Klimchuk is certainly one of them.
Overview:
Dean Clark’s team currently has a record of 2-3-0-1 on the young season. After a victory October 4th in Prince Albert, the Cats have dropped two straight games (Saskatoon and Brandon). One could argue that had it not been for a bad seven minutes last night in Brandon, the result may have been much different.
Who’s Up Front:
16-year-old forward Jordan Tkatch is on a three-game goal-scoring streak, and seems to be playing with more confidence with each passing day. Tkatch has shown a strong nose for the net, and great patience. Credit must also go to his line-mates Jarrett Fontaine and Spencer Asuchak, who have probably been the most consistent trio of forwards so far on this trip for Prince George. Can Tkatch make it four in a row?
Who’s on D:
17-year-old Josh Smith was the lone defenceman to get on the score-sheet last night for the Cats. Smith has tallied three assists so far this season, and has fit nicely alongside Martin Marincin. Smith’s game is still raw in some areas, but you can definitely see why the Prince George Cougars selected him in the first-round of the 09 Bantam Draft.
Who’s in Goal:
After a tough second period for Devon Fordyce last night, he was pulled in favor of Drew Owsley. I would expect Owsley will be strongly considered for tonight’s start given the record of the opponent, and how well he played last night in relief.
X-Factor:
Special Teams at both ends. Inopportune penalties have cost the Cougars in each of their past two losses, and their power play has struggled to find consistency through the first six games. If the Cougars can win the special-teams war, and start finding a little more success on the power play, there is no doubt that they can go head-to-head with the Regina Pats and leave the Brandt Center with two points, and a .500 record again.
No comments:
Post a Comment