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.
Friday, February 3, 2012
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.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
500 Wins for the Prince George Cougars.
Tuesday night in Victoria the Prince George Cougars earned their 500th career victory in the city where their franchise originated. Troy Bourke had three assists, and four different goal scorers helped pace the Prince George Cougars to a 4-2 victory over the Victoria Royals.
The Cougars opened the scoring at 14:36 of the first period when defenceman Reid Jackson scored his second of the season on a point shot from the right side. Royal’s goaltender Keith Hamilton appeared to be screened on the play.
Three minutes later the Royals countered with the equalizer. Jamie Crooks’ initial shot was stopped by Drew Owsley, but Crooks followed up on his shot and batted his own rebound out of the air and into the net to make it 1-1.
The Cougars and Royals were tied at one after one with the Cougars outshooting Victoria 12-11.
Victoria quickly took a 2-1 lead early in the second period when Brandon Magee finished off a give-and-go with Mike Forsyth for his 16th goal of the season.
Greg Fraser evened the score at two at 7:24 of the period when he finished off a nice pass from Chase Witala. Witala did a lot of the dirty work behind the Victoria goal to free the puck, and Fraser made no mistake with the pass for his 13th of the season. Fraser has now scored in back-to-back games.
Daulton Siwak gave the visitors the lead at 15:16 when he beat Keith Hamilton from inside the left circle for his ninth of the season. Siwak has also now scored in back-to-back games. Troy Bourke was credited with his second assist of the game on this goal.
Mid-way through the third period the Prince George Cougars increased their lead when Ricard Blidstrand knocked in his own rebound after receiving the initial pass from Troy Bourke behind the goal. Blidstrand’s first as a Cougar provided more than enough insurance for the Cougars who outshot the Royals 12-10 in the third, and 34-32 overall.
Both teams were only given one power play and both of them were abbreviated.
The Cougars improved their record to 16-31-0-2 on the year, and have now inched within three points of Victoria for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Cougars are now 1-1-0-1 through three meetings this season with Victoria.
The Cougars will look to inch a little closer to the Royals tomorrow night when these teams meet again in Victoria.
The Cougars opened the scoring at 14:36 of the first period when defenceman Reid Jackson scored his second of the season on a point shot from the right side. Royal’s goaltender Keith Hamilton appeared to be screened on the play.
Three minutes later the Royals countered with the equalizer. Jamie Crooks’ initial shot was stopped by Drew Owsley, but Crooks followed up on his shot and batted his own rebound out of the air and into the net to make it 1-1.
The Cougars and Royals were tied at one after one with the Cougars outshooting Victoria 12-11.
Victoria quickly took a 2-1 lead early in the second period when Brandon Magee finished off a give-and-go with Mike Forsyth for his 16th goal of the season.
Greg Fraser evened the score at two at 7:24 of the period when he finished off a nice pass from Chase Witala. Witala did a lot of the dirty work behind the Victoria goal to free the puck, and Fraser made no mistake with the pass for his 13th of the season. Fraser has now scored in back-to-back games.
Daulton Siwak gave the visitors the lead at 15:16 when he beat Keith Hamilton from inside the left circle for his ninth of the season. Siwak has also now scored in back-to-back games. Troy Bourke was credited with his second assist of the game on this goal.
Mid-way through the third period the Prince George Cougars increased their lead when Ricard Blidstrand knocked in his own rebound after receiving the initial pass from Troy Bourke behind the goal. Blidstrand’s first as a Cougar provided more than enough insurance for the Cougars who outshot the Royals 12-10 in the third, and 34-32 overall.
Both teams were only given one power play and both of them were abbreviated.
The Cougars improved their record to 16-31-0-2 on the year, and have now inched within three points of Victoria for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Cougars are now 1-1-0-1 through three meetings this season with Victoria.
The Cougars will look to inch a little closer to the Royals tomorrow night when these teams meet again in Victoria.
The Prince George Cougars and Victoria Royals meet tonight for the first time since October 1st, 2011. The Cougars are 0-1-0-1 against Victoria so far this season having posted a 5-4 shootout loss to Victoria followed by a 6-5 defeat. If the Cougars want to get into the playoffs they will need to take advantage of their six remaining games against Victoria.
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.
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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