Overview:
Marc Habscheid’s Victoria Royals come into tonight’s game in eighth place in the Western Conference standings. The Royals are 16-29-2-3 through 50 games and are 3-6-0-1 in their last 10.
Who’s Up Front:
The Victoria Royals are a team that can come at you in waves offensively. Even though they dealt Kevin Sundher to Brandon at the deadline, they still boast several forwards that can bury the puck. 19-year-old forward Jamie Crooks lead the Royals offensively. Crooks has 52 points in 50 games and leads the Royals with 25 goals this season. It will be important for the Cougars to try and keep Crooks and his linemates in check.
Who’s on D:
The Victoria Royals boast one of the top offensively 20-year-old defenceman in the WHL with Hayden Rintoul. Rintoul has 35 points through 50 games and sits fifth among 20-year-old defenceman in points. Rintoul can pass and skate with the best of them.
Who’s in Goal:
The Victoria Royals have given the bulk of their starts this season to 19-year-old goaltender Keith Hamilton. Hamilton is 14-24-1-3 this season with a 4.41 goals against average and a save percentage of .876 on the year. His backup is 17-year-old Prince George product Jared Rathjen who is 0-4-1-0 this season.
X-Factor:
The Victoria Royals have surrendered the most goals out of any team in the Western Hockey League with 247, which works out to just under five goals per game against. The Royals will need to keep that total down if they want to find success this week against the Cougars.
Overview:
The Prince George Cougars are heading into this week having suffered five consecutive losses. The Cougars went zero-for-two this past weekend against Everett, and now with 24 games remaining, they’ll need to try and regain some of the road confidence that they had earlier in the season. The Cougars are 15-31-0-2 and are ranked 10th in the Western Conference, but trail the Royals by only five points for the final playoff spot in the West. The Cougars also have two games in hand.
Who’s Up Front:
What weekend for Cougars forward Spencer Asuchak who finished with three goals in two games against Everett. Asuchak leads the Cougars with 13 goals this season, and is hoping to continue that type of production this week in Victoria. Continued success from Spencer Asuchak up front will be a big bonus for the Cougars who have scored the fewest goals in the Western Hockey League through 48 games.
Who’s on D:
For the first time in his WHL career, Cody Carlson will get to play some games in his own backyard. Carlson (Victoria, B.C.) will no doubt he pumped up and ready to go for these games this week. Carlson comes into this week with 30 points in 48 games, which is sixth among 20-year-olds in defensive scoring.
Who’s in Goal:
It was a tough weekend for Cougars goaltender Drew Owsley. He made some tremendous saves and (like always) gave his team a chance to win some hockey games. The goals that got by him were tough ones to stop and I don’t think there is anybody watching that would criticize Owsley’s ability to compete and make timely saves. The Cougars will need some timely goaltending this week from both of their netminders depending on who gets the call. If the Cougars can hold Victoria to two or three goals in each game, I think they give themselves a great chance to win.
X-Factor:
The Prince George Cougars are still looking for their first road victory in 2012. It’s a strange stat considering how consistent the Cougars were on the road earlier in the season. The Cougars will need to rediscover the fire that they played with earlier in the season on the road. They’ll need to play physically, disciplined and make the necessary sacrifices (eg. Blocking shots, and taking hits to make plays). It may take a greasy game loaded with blocked-shots and garbage goals to get back on track and closer to the playoffs.
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