Cougars #FeedTheStreak
Having won their first four games this Western Hockey League season, one glaring fault in the Prince George Cougars’ game was their power play. They were stumbling along at a 5.9 per cent success rate when somebody hit the switch Friday night against the Kelowna Rockets. Three of their four goals in a 4-1 victory over their B.C. Division rivals were scored with a Rocket body in the sinbin.
The Cougars thoroughly entertained a partisan crowd of 5,282 that packed into CN Centre to watch their team run its record to 5-0-0-0, tops in the WHL. The loss dropped the Rockets to 1-3-0-0.
Brad Morrison led the way for the Cats with two goals. Yan Khomenko and Shane Collins also found the net. Jake Kryski was the Rocket goalscorer. Ty Ed- monds had a relatively quiet night between the pipes for the Cougars, making 15 saves as the Cougars outshot their opponents 44-16.
The Cougars had scored on just one of 17 opportunities in their previous four games. They looked nervous from the opening puck drop and certainly did not resemble a well-oiled machine working with the man advantage in four first-period chances, including two lengthy 5-on-3 opportunities. The Rockets’ penalty-killers threw a wrench into it, blocking shots and getting their sticks in the shooting lanes.
Kryski opened the scoring 2:45 into the game. The former Kamloops Blazer cruised in on the left wing and fired the puck in at the feet of Edmonds. Kole Lind had his stick ready to whack it in but Kyski’s shot had enough momentum to squeeze through.
Morrison got the Cougars back on even terms late in the period on a perfect feed in the slot from Brogan O’Brien, the first goal of the season for the New York Rangers prospect, who had six assists in his first four games.
Morrison’s second of the night, a power-play marker 2:34 into the second period, gave the Cats a 2-1 lead. He got to the rebound after O’Brien’s shot from the faceoff circle was stopped by goalie Michael Herringer.
Edmonds came up with one of his best saves of the night to keep it a 2-1 game 14 minutes into the second when he came well out of his crease to take away the angle on dangerous-looking shot from Kryski.
Morrison and his linemates O’Brien and Kody McDonald were scoring threats all night and came close to adding to the total in the dying seconds of the second period. Morrison sprung O’Brien into the clear but Herringer stuck out his blocker to deny O’Brien his first goal of the season.
Khomenko cashed in another Cougars’ power-play chance to increase the lead to 3-1 early in the third period. Max Martin shot the puck in deep and Colby McAuley just missed with the puck on his stick at the side on the net. Herringer lost his footing and Khomenko, picked up this summer by the Cougars when he failed to catch on for a second season with the Everett Silvertips, picked the corner from a sharp angle.
Frustrated by their lack of offence, the Rockets started losing their cool and the Cougars made them pay the price. Already on the penalty kill, Gordie Ballhorn got tossed in the box after Cougars’ Kody McDonald turned down his offer to scrap. Before Ballhorn could get back out, Khomenko showed his skill with a nifty deke in the slot and passed over to a wide-open Shane Collins, whose shot trickled in for the Cougars’ third power-play goal of the game.
The Cats finished up 3-for-9 on the power play, while Kelowna went 0-for-3.
LOOSE PUCKS: The same teams meet again tonight at CN Centre (7 p.m. start)… The Cougars presented a cheque for $60,286.74 to Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation CEO Judy Neiser during the second intermission. The money was raised at the third annual Cougars Alumni golf tournament fundraiser at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club… Tickets are no on sale for the CIBC Canada-Russia Series, featuring the WHL all-stars against the top Russian juniors. The Cougars will host the first of the six-game series on Monday, Nov. 7. The tour also stops in Edmonton on Nov. 8 before it moves on to Ontario and Quebec. Prince George last hosted the series in 2010. Cougars forwards Brett Connolly and Charles Inglis, as well as Prince George minor hockey product Ryan Howse, representing the Chilliwack Bruins, played on Team WHL, which lost 5-2 to the Russians.