Cougars take aim at Oil Kings
The Prince George Cougars’ special teams this season are a tale of two extremes. They run the gamut from first to worst. On the plus side of the ledger is the Cougars’ penalty killing. Through 20 games the Cats lead the entire Western Hockey League with a kill rate of 86.9 per cent. They’ve allowed just 11 powerplay goals all season in the 84 times they’ve played shorthanded.
As good as they have been at killing off penalties, the Cougars haven’t had much luck cashing in on the power play. They’ve scored just 12 goals on 86 chances which means their power play is working at 14 per cent efficiency, tied with Kootenay for last in the 22-team league.
Their special teams play reflects one common theme that has dogged the Cougars this season. As good as they have been at preventing other teams from scoring (they’ve allowed 3.09 goals per game, fifth-stingiest in the WHL) the Cats have struggled to light the red lamp. They’ve scored just 55 goals in those 20 games, an average of 2.75 per game, which puts Prince George last overall.
So what does all that mean as the Cougars prepare to take on the Edmonton Oil Kings tonight and Saturday at CN Centre? Not a whole lot. Once the puck gets dropped tonight (7 p.m. start) you can throw all those stats out the window. The only numbers that will matter will be which team snags the two points in the standings that are up for grabs.
Like the Cougars, the Oil Kings (5-13-2-0) are currently out of a playoff position, ranked last overall in the league. Edmonton is trying to shake off a seven-game losing streak, all of those regulation-time losses.
The Oil Kings are on the tail end of a five-game B.C. Division tour with stops in Victoria (3-2 loss on Friday), Vancouver (8-7 loss on Saturday) and Kelowna (5-2 loss on Wednesday). The Cougars (7-9-2-2, fourth in B.C. Division) got back on the winning track Wednesday night in Kamloops with a 5-4 win over the Blazers. That was a muchneeded win for the Cats, who returned from an extended seven-game road-trip Nov. 4 and split their series with Everett last weekend, winning 4-3 in a shootout, followed by a 4-0 loss to the Silvertips.
RW Trey Fix-Wolansky leads the Oil Kings in scoring with nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points in 20 games. Another Edmonton forward to watch is C Tomas Soustal, a Czech import who started the season with Kelowna. He has five goals and 15 points in 18 games.
Kody McDonald has been the most prolific Cougar forward with 11 goals and seven assists for 18 points through 20 games. His shorthanded goal late in the third period stood as the winner Wednesday in Kamloops. Linemate Jared Bethune (4-13-17) and defenceman Dennis Cholowski (510-15) are not far off McDonald’s points pace.
The Cougars expect to have defenceman Josh Anderson back in the lineup tonight. The 19-yearold native of Duncan, a third-round draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2016, suffered a separated shoulder in a game against Kelowna Oct. 6 at CN Centre and has missed 14 games.
Tavin Grant will likely get the start in goal tonight for the Cats. Grant has started the last six games and through 13 games this season he sports a 2.89 goals-against average and .912 save percentage. Backup goalie Taylor Gauthier returned to the Cougars earlier this week after playing for Canada White at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Dawson Creek/Fort St. John.
The Cougars will host the Medicine Hat Tigers next Tuesday and Wednesday at CN Centre.