Saturday night in Prince George, the Cougars were defeated 4-1 by the Kelowna Rockets. Mid-way through the second period, Kelowna scored twice in a 35-second span to break a 1-1 tie. Shane McColgan had a goal and two assists for the visitors while Daulton Siwak scored for the Cougars in the loss.
Kelowna came out buzzing early, but the Cougars were able to weather the early storm. The Rockets held a 5-1 edge in the shots department early, but Cougars netminder Devon Fordyce stood tall and soon the Cougars went to work offensively.
They moved the puck around quickly on their first power play and came close twice, but were unable to convert.
Late in the first, Kelowna took the lead when Shane McColgan scored on the power play. It was some tough luck for the Cougars defensively who did everything possible to stop the charge. Spencer Asuchak blocked one shot, and then Jordan Tkatch blocked another. Unfortunately Tkatch’s stick shattered on the play, and McColgan was able move by him and score.
Kelowna led 1-0 after one, and outshot the Cougars 11-8.
Early in the second period the Cougars continued to buzz. Their passes were crisp and they were getting good looks at the net, and were finally rewarded at 7:23 when Daulton Siwak jumped onto the puck along the right wing and blasted a shot past Adam Brown for his 10th of the year. Siwak has now scored five goals since he arrived to Prince George in a trade from Red Deer on December 29th.
Mid-way through the second period the Rockets regained the lead when Austin Ferguson found Tyrell Goulbourne in the slot-area. Goulbourne was able to beat Devon Fordyce for his sixth of the season, and Kelowna led 2-1.
35 seconds later the Rockets added to their lead when Myles Bell put a shot on goal from the right wing boards. The puck found its way past Devon Fordyce and Bell had his 10th of the season.
Carty Rigby would make it 4-1 for Kelowna on a late second period power play when he converted on a pass from Colton Sissons. Rigby’s 14th gave Kelowna the 4-1 lead that they would not relinquish.
Devon Fordyce stood tall in the third period for the Cougars. He faced 17 shots and stopped them all, and finished the night with 45 saves on 49 shots faced.
Kelowna finished the night two-for-five on the power play while the Cougars were zero-for-two on their opportunities.
The Cougars don’t play again until Friday, February 10th when they host the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Cougars - Rockets Part Two.
The Prince George Cougars and Kelowna Rockets are back at it again tonight at CN Centre. Last night the Rockets earned the 2-1 victory and while the Cougars can take several positives from the game, the result will leave them wanting and needing more this evening.
Overview:
The Kelowna Rockets come into tonight’s game 12 points ahead of Victoria for sixth in the Western Conference. The Rockets trail Vancouver by 11 points in the race for fifth place in the Western Conference. Kelowna is 23-23-2-4 and are 6-3-0-1 in their last 10 games.
Who’s Up Front:
When the Rockets needed a big goal last night, Shane McColgan was there. The 18-year-old forward leads the Rockets in scoring with 50 points in 51 games, and his 14th of the year last night proved to be the game winner. McColgan skates very well, and is tough to knock off the puck.
Who’s on D:
17-year-old Damon Severson recently represented the Rockets at the CHL Top Prospects Game in Kelowna and last night he showed why he belonged there. It was Severson’s pass from the left-point to the right-wing that led to McColgan’s game winner. Severson has 23 points in the season and is only two back of Myles Bell for the team lead in scoring for defencemen.
Who’s in Goal:
The Prince George Cougars have seen Adam Brown an awful lot this season already, and Brown has been very difficult to solve through the past six games. Brown stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced in last night’s game and many of them were tough stops to make. If Brown gets the nod again tonight it will be the seventh start of the season for him against Prince George. His backup is also very capable. Jordan Cooke comes into tonight’s game with a 6-5-2-2 record and a saver percentage of .915.
X-Factor:
The Kelowna Rockets can thank their penalty-kill for some of last night’s success. The Rockets held the Cougars scoreless on five power play attempts and did a great job (especially late) at limiting the Cougars opportunities. Tonight discipline and defence will be two keys for the Rockets success.
Overview:
The Prince George Cougars are heading into their fourth game in five nights, and are looking to split those four games with a victory tonight. The Cougars are 3-7-0-0 in their last 10 games, and did not lose any ground on the eighth placed Seattle Thunderbirds last night. Two points tonight would help the Cougars confidence as they head into next week with two matchups lined up with the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Who’s Up Front:
Spencer Asuchak is playing some of his best hockey as of late. The 20-year-old had the lone goal for Prince George in last night’s game, and now leads the team with 14 on the year. Asuchak is skating well, using his body to create plays and looked strong through all three periods of last night’s game with the Rockets.
Who’s on D:
Even without the services of Dan Gibb and Reid Jackson, the defense for the Cougars last night was strong and made very few mistakes. Cody Carlson, Jesse Forsberg and Ricard Blidstrand logged a ton of ice-time and led the charge in a big way for Prince George. Cody Carlson leads the Cougars with 30 points from the back-end, and is the only Cougar to have played in all 51 games so far this season. I expect another similar effort from Carlson and his fellow defencemen tonight.
Who’s in Goal:
Devon Fordyce got the call in last night’s game and played well. Admittedly he might want the first goal back, but Fordyce did not seem to let that one weigh him down. He was square to the puck, made some nice gloves saves and was not shy about playing the puck as well. These are all encouraging signs for the Cougars who may need to rely on Fordyce once again tonight depending on the status of Drew Owsley. Devon Fordyce is 1-6-0-1 on the season with an .861 save percentage.
X-Factor:
The Prince George Cougars are two-for-thirty this season on the power play against Kelowna. The Rockets have not been shy about taking penalties, and tonight the Cougars will need to try and find a way to convert when they have the extra man. The Cougars need to be commended for how disciplined they have been against the Rockets, and tonight if they can find a way to capitalize on their power play, they’re going to have a great shot at winning tonight’s game.
Overview:
The Kelowna Rockets come into tonight’s game 12 points ahead of Victoria for sixth in the Western Conference. The Rockets trail Vancouver by 11 points in the race for fifth place in the Western Conference. Kelowna is 23-23-2-4 and are 6-3-0-1 in their last 10 games.
Who’s Up Front:
When the Rockets needed a big goal last night, Shane McColgan was there. The 18-year-old forward leads the Rockets in scoring with 50 points in 51 games, and his 14th of the year last night proved to be the game winner. McColgan skates very well, and is tough to knock off the puck.
Who’s on D:
17-year-old Damon Severson recently represented the Rockets at the CHL Top Prospects Game in Kelowna and last night he showed why he belonged there. It was Severson’s pass from the left-point to the right-wing that led to McColgan’s game winner. Severson has 23 points in the season and is only two back of Myles Bell for the team lead in scoring for defencemen.
Who’s in Goal:
The Prince George Cougars have seen Adam Brown an awful lot this season already, and Brown has been very difficult to solve through the past six games. Brown stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced in last night’s game and many of them were tough stops to make. If Brown gets the nod again tonight it will be the seventh start of the season for him against Prince George. His backup is also very capable. Jordan Cooke comes into tonight’s game with a 6-5-2-2 record and a saver percentage of .915.
X-Factor:
The Kelowna Rockets can thank their penalty-kill for some of last night’s success. The Rockets held the Cougars scoreless on five power play attempts and did a great job (especially late) at limiting the Cougars opportunities. Tonight discipline and defence will be two keys for the Rockets success.
Overview:
The Prince George Cougars are heading into their fourth game in five nights, and are looking to split those four games with a victory tonight. The Cougars are 3-7-0-0 in their last 10 games, and did not lose any ground on the eighth placed Seattle Thunderbirds last night. Two points tonight would help the Cougars confidence as they head into next week with two matchups lined up with the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Who’s Up Front:
Spencer Asuchak is playing some of his best hockey as of late. The 20-year-old had the lone goal for Prince George in last night’s game, and now leads the team with 14 on the year. Asuchak is skating well, using his body to create plays and looked strong through all three periods of last night’s game with the Rockets.
Who’s on D:
Even without the services of Dan Gibb and Reid Jackson, the defense for the Cougars last night was strong and made very few mistakes. Cody Carlson, Jesse Forsberg and Ricard Blidstrand logged a ton of ice-time and led the charge in a big way for Prince George. Cody Carlson leads the Cougars with 30 points from the back-end, and is the only Cougar to have played in all 51 games so far this season. I expect another similar effort from Carlson and his fellow defencemen tonight.
Who’s in Goal:
Devon Fordyce got the call in last night’s game and played well. Admittedly he might want the first goal back, but Fordyce did not seem to let that one weigh him down. He was square to the puck, made some nice gloves saves and was not shy about playing the puck as well. These are all encouraging signs for the Cougars who may need to rely on Fordyce once again tonight depending on the status of Drew Owsley. Devon Fordyce is 1-6-0-1 on the season with an .861 save percentage.
X-Factor:
The Prince George Cougars are two-for-thirty this season on the power play against Kelowna. The Rockets have not been shy about taking penalties, and tonight the Cougars will need to try and find a way to convert when they have the extra man. The Cougars need to be commended for how disciplined they have been against the Rockets, and tonight if they can find a way to capitalize on their power play, they’re going to have a great shot at winning tonight’s game.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Rockets 2 - Cougars 1
Friday night in Prince George, the Cougars fell 2-1 to the Kelowna Rockets. Shane McColgan broke a 1-1 tie with his 14th of the season mid-way through the third period to give Kelowna the win. The Cougars put forth a strong 60-minute effort, but dropped their third one-goal game this season to Kelowna.
The first period resulted in no goals for either squad, but the Cougars certainly had lots of jump. The Cougars outshot Kelowna 11-7 and had some quality chances on Adam Brown that they simply could not convert on. Devon Fordyce was strong at the other end stopping all seven shots he faced in the opening stanza.
Early in the second period Kelowna caught a break when Cody Chikie went wide on the defense and put a shot on goal that hand-cuffed Devon Fordyce. For Chikie it was his 13th of the season and the Rockets led 1-0.
Prince George kept coming though, and would have tied it if not for two shots that went off the goal-post. The home team proved through 40 minutes that they weren’t going to go down easy, and early in the third period they found some offensive life.
Dean Clark put Greg Fraser, Troy Bourke and Spencer Asuchak together for the third period, and the trio of veteran forwards did their part to even the score. Linden Springer’s point-shot was stopped but Spencer Asuchak made no mistake on the rebound for his team-leading 14th goal of the season, and the Cougars were tied 1-1.
After some back-and-forth play the Kelowna Rockets took the game’s final lead when Damon Severson found Shane McColgan on a back-door pass. McColgan made no mistake for his 14th of the season – Which ultimately sealed the deal for the Cougars. The Cats came close a few more times in the third, but Rockets netminder Adam Brown stood his ground to keep the game at 2-1.
Special-teams hurt the Cougars as well who were zero-for-five on their power plays while Kelowna went zero-for-one at the other end. Kelowna outshot Prince George 29-27.
Kelowna improved their record to 23-23-2-4 on the season while the Cougars fall to 16-33-0-2. Luckily the Cougars didn’t lose any ground on eighth placed Seattle who dropped 4-1 score to the Tri City Americans on Friday.
The Cougars and Rockets will meet again on Saturday night from CN Centre.
The first period resulted in no goals for either squad, but the Cougars certainly had lots of jump. The Cougars outshot Kelowna 11-7 and had some quality chances on Adam Brown that they simply could not convert on. Devon Fordyce was strong at the other end stopping all seven shots he faced in the opening stanza.
Early in the second period Kelowna caught a break when Cody Chikie went wide on the defense and put a shot on goal that hand-cuffed Devon Fordyce. For Chikie it was his 13th of the season and the Rockets led 1-0.
Prince George kept coming though, and would have tied it if not for two shots that went off the goal-post. The home team proved through 40 minutes that they weren’t going to go down easy, and early in the third period they found some offensive life.
Dean Clark put Greg Fraser, Troy Bourke and Spencer Asuchak together for the third period, and the trio of veteran forwards did their part to even the score. Linden Springer’s point-shot was stopped but Spencer Asuchak made no mistake on the rebound for his team-leading 14th goal of the season, and the Cougars were tied 1-1.
After some back-and-forth play the Kelowna Rockets took the game’s final lead when Damon Severson found Shane McColgan on a back-door pass. McColgan made no mistake for his 14th of the season – Which ultimately sealed the deal for the Cougars. The Cats came close a few more times in the third, but Rockets netminder Adam Brown stood his ground to keep the game at 2-1.
Special-teams hurt the Cougars as well who were zero-for-five on their power plays while Kelowna went zero-for-one at the other end. Kelowna outshot Prince George 29-27.
Kelowna improved their record to 23-23-2-4 on the season while the Cougars fall to 16-33-0-2. Luckily the Cougars didn’t lose any ground on eighth placed Seattle who dropped 4-1 score to the Tri City Americans on Friday.
The Cougars and Rockets will meet again on Saturday night from CN Centre.
Cougars - Rockets Preview.
The Prince George Cougars are back home and will take to the ice for the third time in four nights tonight against Kelowna. The Cougars are 1-1 through their first two games this week having earned a 4-2 victory against Victoria Tuesday before falling 5-1 on Wednesday.
Overview:
The Kelowna Rockets come into tonight’s game 11 points ahead of Victoria for sixth in the Western Conference. The Rockets trail Vancouver by 11 points in the race for fifth place in the Western Conference. Kelowna is 22-23-2-4 and are 5-4-0-1 in their last 10 games.
Who’s Up Front:
Leading the way for the Kelowna Rockets offensively is 18-year-old forward Shane McColgan. The California product leads the Rockets with 49 points through 50 games. He’s a very shifty forward and is difficult to contain. He leads all Rockets with 36 assists this season.
Who’s on D:
18-year-old defenceman Myles Bell leads all Kelowna defencemen with 25 points through 35 games. Bell has scored nine goals this season – Seven of which have come on the man advantage. Bell did not play in the three most recent meetings between these teams.
Who’s in Goal:
The Prince George Cougars have seen Adam Brown in all five games this season featuring these two teams. Brown is 16-18-0-2 this season and has a goals against of 3.31 and a save percentage of .894. Brown is backed up by 18-year-old Jordan Cooke who is 6-5-2-2 this season with a 2.76 goals against average and a save percentage of .915 this season.
X-Factor:
The Kelowna Rockets have received strong contributions lately from draft-eligible forward Colton Scissons. Scissons has tallied eight points in his past eight games and leads the Rockets in goals with 26 this season. Scissons is one of two players who has played in every game this season for Kelowna.
Overview:
The Prince George Cougars are heading into their third game in four nights tonight. For the first time since mid-November the Cougars meet with the Kelowna Rockets. The Cougars are coming off a split with the Victoria Royals earlier this week and are 3-7-0-0 in their last 10 games overall. The Cougars come into tonight’s game four points back of eighth placed Seattle in the Western Conference.
Who’s Up Front:
No Cougar is hotter than Greg Fraser. Fraser has four points in his past three games, and seems to be playing with some strong confidence at this point. Fraser is tied for the team lead in goals with 13, and will hope to keep his streak alive tonight against Kelowna.
Who’s on D:
Defensively the Cougars will once again need to rely on the likes of Jesse Forsberg, Reid Jackson, Ricard Blidstrand and Cody Carlson to eat up some minutes. Marc McNulty remains with the team and will also be available this weekend on the blueline along with Linden Springer/Michael Mylchreest. Ricard Blidstrand is in the midst of a two-game point streak.
Who’s in Goal:
Drew Owsley was recently named the Prince George Cougars player of the month for January. Owsley made 11 starts and went 3-8-0-0 during the month. More importantly than the record was the fact that Owsley faced 40 or more shots in six of his 11 starts, and finished with a save percentage of .906. Owsley is backed up by 17-year-old Devon Fordyce who holds a record of 1-5-0-1 this season.
X-Factor:
The Prince George Cougars will have Campbell Elynuik back in the lineup tonight after he served out his five-game suspension. Elynuik provides size, and experience and has some offensive skill as well that is often over-looked. It will be important for Elynuik to play to his strengths, and find ways to be effective for the Cougars.
Overview:
The Kelowna Rockets come into tonight’s game 11 points ahead of Victoria for sixth in the Western Conference. The Rockets trail Vancouver by 11 points in the race for fifth place in the Western Conference. Kelowna is 22-23-2-4 and are 5-4-0-1 in their last 10 games.
Who’s Up Front:
Leading the way for the Kelowna Rockets offensively is 18-year-old forward Shane McColgan. The California product leads the Rockets with 49 points through 50 games. He’s a very shifty forward and is difficult to contain. He leads all Rockets with 36 assists this season.
Who’s on D:
18-year-old defenceman Myles Bell leads all Kelowna defencemen with 25 points through 35 games. Bell has scored nine goals this season – Seven of which have come on the man advantage. Bell did not play in the three most recent meetings between these teams.
Who’s in Goal:
The Prince George Cougars have seen Adam Brown in all five games this season featuring these two teams. Brown is 16-18-0-2 this season and has a goals against of 3.31 and a save percentage of .894. Brown is backed up by 18-year-old Jordan Cooke who is 6-5-2-2 this season with a 2.76 goals against average and a save percentage of .915 this season.
X-Factor:
The Kelowna Rockets have received strong contributions lately from draft-eligible forward Colton Scissons. Scissons has tallied eight points in his past eight games and leads the Rockets in goals with 26 this season. Scissons is one of two players who has played in every game this season for Kelowna.
Overview:
The Prince George Cougars are heading into their third game in four nights tonight. For the first time since mid-November the Cougars meet with the Kelowna Rockets. The Cougars are coming off a split with the Victoria Royals earlier this week and are 3-7-0-0 in their last 10 games overall. The Cougars come into tonight’s game four points back of eighth placed Seattle in the Western Conference.
Who’s Up Front:
No Cougar is hotter than Greg Fraser. Fraser has four points in his past three games, and seems to be playing with some strong confidence at this point. Fraser is tied for the team lead in goals with 13, and will hope to keep his streak alive tonight against Kelowna.
Who’s on D:
Defensively the Cougars will once again need to rely on the likes of Jesse Forsberg, Reid Jackson, Ricard Blidstrand and Cody Carlson to eat up some minutes. Marc McNulty remains with the team and will also be available this weekend on the blueline along with Linden Springer/Michael Mylchreest. Ricard Blidstrand is in the midst of a two-game point streak.
Who’s in Goal:
Drew Owsley was recently named the Prince George Cougars player of the month for January. Owsley made 11 starts and went 3-8-0-0 during the month. More importantly than the record was the fact that Owsley faced 40 or more shots in six of his 11 starts, and finished with a save percentage of .906. Owsley is backed up by 17-year-old Devon Fordyce who holds a record of 1-5-0-1 this season.
X-Factor:
The Prince George Cougars will have Campbell Elynuik back in the lineup tonight after he served out his five-game suspension. Elynuik provides size, and experience and has some offensive skill as well that is often over-looked. It will be important for Elynuik to play to his strengths, and find ways to be effective for the Cougars.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Royals 5 - Cougars 1
Wednesday night in Victoria, the Prince George Cougars dropped a 5-1 score to the Victoria Royals. Victoria scored five unanswered goals and went two-for-five on the power play to earn their 17th win of the season and third against the Cougars in four games.
Prince George got off to a great start when Chase Witala raced down the left-wing and fired a shot past Keith Hamilton for his third of the season. It was the first shot of the game for Prince George who continued to mount pressure afterwards. Daulton Siwak had a glorious chance off a giveaway, but he fired wide on the backhand and the lead was still only one goal.
Victoria tied the score at 11:16 of the first when Jordan Fransoo put a shot towards the goal from the right point. His shot was blocked in front by his own teammate Ben Walker, who then tucked a backhander through Drew Owsley for his fifth of the season.
Early in the second the Royals took the lead when Ben Walker converted a Robin Soudek pass for his sixth of the season and second of the night. The Cougars had a great chance a few moments later, but Chase Witala was denied on a two-on-one opportunity with Greg Fraser.
Late in the second the Royals were given a lengthy five-on-three power play and made the Cougars pay. Jamie Crooks was the recipient of some fortunate puck-luck when Hayden Rintoul’s point shot took an awkward bounce off of the back of the net net, and right to Crooks who tapped in his 27th of the season.
52 seconds later Dakota Conroy scored another power play marker from beside the goal on the left-wing to make it 4-1 for the Royals.
The Royals capped off the scoring early in the third when Steven Hodges tipped home a Zach Habscheid point-shot for his 15th of the season.
The Cougars were given two more power plays in the third but were unable to take advantage.
Victoria outshot Prince George 32-21 and went two-for-five on the power play. The Cougars were zero-for-four on their power play opportunities.
The Cougars record now sits at 16-32-0-2 and fall five points back of Victoria in the Western Conference standings. The Cougars still hold two games in hand on the Royals and will face them four more times before the season wraps up.
The Cougars return home to face the Kelowna Rockets twice this weekend with the first game going Friday night at CN Centre.
Prince George got off to a great start when Chase Witala raced down the left-wing and fired a shot past Keith Hamilton for his third of the season. It was the first shot of the game for Prince George who continued to mount pressure afterwards. Daulton Siwak had a glorious chance off a giveaway, but he fired wide on the backhand and the lead was still only one goal.
Victoria tied the score at 11:16 of the first when Jordan Fransoo put a shot towards the goal from the right point. His shot was blocked in front by his own teammate Ben Walker, who then tucked a backhander through Drew Owsley for his fifth of the season.
Early in the second the Royals took the lead when Ben Walker converted a Robin Soudek pass for his sixth of the season and second of the night. The Cougars had a great chance a few moments later, but Chase Witala was denied on a two-on-one opportunity with Greg Fraser.
Late in the second the Royals were given a lengthy five-on-three power play and made the Cougars pay. Jamie Crooks was the recipient of some fortunate puck-luck when Hayden Rintoul’s point shot took an awkward bounce off of the back of the net net, and right to Crooks who tapped in his 27th of the season.
52 seconds later Dakota Conroy scored another power play marker from beside the goal on the left-wing to make it 4-1 for the Royals.
The Royals capped off the scoring early in the third when Steven Hodges tipped home a Zach Habscheid point-shot for his 15th of the season.
The Cougars were given two more power plays in the third but were unable to take advantage.
Victoria outshot Prince George 32-21 and went two-for-five on the power play. The Cougars were zero-for-four on their power play opportunities.
The Cougars record now sits at 16-32-0-2 and fall five points back of Victoria in the Western Conference standings. The Cougars still hold two games in hand on the Royals and will face them four more times before the season wraps up.
The Cougars return home to face the Kelowna Rockets twice this weekend with the first game going Friday night at CN Centre.
Cougars - Royals Part Two.
The Prince George Cougars and Victoria Royals meet for a second straight night tonight at the Save On Foods Memorial Centre in downtown Victoria. The Cougars earned a 4-2 victory last night on the strength of some timely scoring and solid defense. The Cougars will look for a repeat performance tonight.
Overview:
Marc Habscheid’s Victoria Royals come into tonight’s game in eighth place in the Western Conference standings. The Royals are 16-30-2-3 through 51 games and are 3-6-0-1 in their last 10. Last night’s game marked the second loss in a row for Victoria.
Who’s Up Front:
The Victoria Royals were led last night by forwards Brandon Magee and Jamie Crooks. Crooks notched his 26th goal of the season while Magee tallied for the 16th time. Both were dangerous throughout the game, and the Cougars will need to make sure that these players are kept in check yet again.
Who’s on D:
When the Royals traded Kevin Sundher to Brandon, one of the pieces they got in return was 18-year-old defenceman Jordan Fransoo. Fransoo is a seventh round pick of the Ottawa Senators and played a strong game last night for Victoria. He moves the puck well, does not shy away from physicality and logged a lot of key minutes for Victoria.
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 14-25-1-3 this season with a 4.40 goals against average and a save percentage of .876 on the year. Hamilton made some key saves for his team in last night’s game and did his part to keep the game close. His backup is 17-year-old Prince George product Jared Rathjen who is 0-4-1-0 this season.
X-Factor:
Rookie forward Ben Walker was not with the Royals when the Cougars faced them in early October. Walker has good speed, is a great passer and looked very comfortable alongside Jamie Crooks for Victoria. Walker has four goals and 13 assists for Victoria through 23 games.
Overview:
The Prince George Cougars are officially back within striking distance of the Royals for the eighth and final playoff spot. Last night’s victory snapped a five game losing streak, and puts the Cougars only three points back with two games in hand. You know that two more points tonight would help the Cougars confidence as they have two games at home this weekend against Kelowna.
Who’s Up Front:
Forwards Greg Fraser and Daulton Siwak have scored in back-to-back games for the Cougars and were both key to the team’s success last night. Siwak skated with Troy Bourke and Jarrett Fontaine, and used his speed and skill to make plays all game. Fraser’s line was great too, as Chase Witala and Austin Daae were big factors in the team’s success along with Fraser. The Cougars are going to need to rely on their depth again if they want to snag another two points tonight against Victoria.
Who’s on D:
For the first time in his WHL career, Cody Carlson got to play a game in front of his hometown crowd, and Carlson did not disappoint. The Cougars 20-year-old was named the game’s third star even though he was held off of the score sheet. Carlson made smart plays, and brought a physical edge to the table as well. Carlson will need to have a similar game tonight along with fellow veteran defenders Reid Jackson, Ricard Blidstrand and Jesse Forsberg.
Who’s in Goal:
Drew Owsley was solid for the Cougars in last night’s victory stopping 30 of the 32 shots he faced. More importantly, Owsley was given the luxury of a lead. When the Cougars lead after two periods they are 11-1-0-0 this season. A lot of that success has to do with Drew Owsley’s confidence when his team is ahead.
X-Factor:
The little things. When the Cougars win faceoffs, block shots, and make smart passes they win. Last night they fort-checked hard, and were able to stick to their game plan and run their systems without too many mistakes. If the Cougars can put forth a similar effort in tonight’s game they’ll have a great shot at being one point back of Victoria when all is said and done tonight.
Overview:
Marc Habscheid’s Victoria Royals come into tonight’s game in eighth place in the Western Conference standings. The Royals are 16-30-2-3 through 51 games and are 3-6-0-1 in their last 10. Last night’s game marked the second loss in a row for Victoria.
Who’s Up Front:
The Victoria Royals were led last night by forwards Brandon Magee and Jamie Crooks. Crooks notched his 26th goal of the season while Magee tallied for the 16th time. Both were dangerous throughout the game, and the Cougars will need to make sure that these players are kept in check yet again.
Who’s on D:
When the Royals traded Kevin Sundher to Brandon, one of the pieces they got in return was 18-year-old defenceman Jordan Fransoo. Fransoo is a seventh round pick of the Ottawa Senators and played a strong game last night for Victoria. He moves the puck well, does not shy away from physicality and logged a lot of key minutes for Victoria.
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 14-25-1-3 this season with a 4.40 goals against average and a save percentage of .876 on the year. Hamilton made some key saves for his team in last night’s game and did his part to keep the game close. His backup is 17-year-old Prince George product Jared Rathjen who is 0-4-1-0 this season.
X-Factor:
Rookie forward Ben Walker was not with the Royals when the Cougars faced them in early October. Walker has good speed, is a great passer and looked very comfortable alongside Jamie Crooks for Victoria. Walker has four goals and 13 assists for Victoria through 23 games.
Overview:
The Prince George Cougars are officially back within striking distance of the Royals for the eighth and final playoff spot. Last night’s victory snapped a five game losing streak, and puts the Cougars only three points back with two games in hand. You know that two more points tonight would help the Cougars confidence as they have two games at home this weekend against Kelowna.
Who’s Up Front:
Forwards Greg Fraser and Daulton Siwak have scored in back-to-back games for the Cougars and were both key to the team’s success last night. Siwak skated with Troy Bourke and Jarrett Fontaine, and used his speed and skill to make plays all game. Fraser’s line was great too, as Chase Witala and Austin Daae were big factors in the team’s success along with Fraser. The Cougars are going to need to rely on their depth again if they want to snag another two points tonight against Victoria.
Who’s on D:
For the first time in his WHL career, Cody Carlson got to play a game in front of his hometown crowd, and Carlson did not disappoint. The Cougars 20-year-old was named the game’s third star even though he was held off of the score sheet. Carlson made smart plays, and brought a physical edge to the table as well. Carlson will need to have a similar game tonight along with fellow veteran defenders Reid Jackson, Ricard Blidstrand and Jesse Forsberg.
Who’s in Goal:
Drew Owsley was solid for the Cougars in last night’s victory stopping 30 of the 32 shots he faced. More importantly, Owsley was given the luxury of a lead. When the Cougars lead after two periods they are 11-1-0-0 this season. A lot of that success has to do with Drew Owsley’s confidence when his team is ahead.
X-Factor:
The little things. When the Cougars win faceoffs, block shots, and make smart passes they win. Last night they fort-checked hard, and were able to stick to their game plan and run their systems without too many mistakes. If the Cougars can put forth a similar effort in tonight’s game they’ll have a great shot at being one point back of Victoria when all is said and done tonight.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
