Betts 4 – Connolly 2
Prince George Cougars Training Camp is officially underway, and from the top down, the entire organization couldn’t be more thrilled!
After registration, head shots and receiving their Prince George Cougars workout gear, the 2015 Training Camp participants were invited to a welcome meeting inside the Kin 1 Lounge attached to the CN Centre.
Prince George Cougars President Greg Pocock welcomed the players and their families to town and provided them all with a summary of the Cougars recent successes and milestones. Prince George Cougars General Manager Todd Harkins then took the floor and introduced his staff and provided further insight into the weekend. Prince George Cougars Equipment Manager Chico Dhanjal and Athletic Therapist Craig Hyslop outlined the equipment and injury protocol respectively. The meeting ended with a chilling pump-up video that can be viewed here: http://www.pgcougars.com/video/60078).
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Next up: The Prince George Cougars Annual Young Guns Game which showcased the ‘future’ of the Prince George Cougars. The game consisted entirely of 1999 and 2000-born players. Team Betts (Black sweaters) edged Team Connolly (White sweaters) by a 4-2 score. Max Martin, Ethan De Jong, Kyle Wiltshire and Jackson Leppard tallied for Team Betts while Liam Ryan and Tyler Ho responded with markers for Team Connolly.
10 minutes into the first, Liam Ryan (Selected in the seventh round, 2015) put Connolly on the board with a wicked wrist shot from the top of the right circle. Tyler Ho started the play with a terrific pass to record his first of two points on the game. Connolly skated into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.
Eight minutes into the second, Team Betts tied the game when Max Martin (Selected in the second round, 2014) took the puck from his own blueline, raced up the left wing and wired a shot past the Connolly netminder.
From there the team traded chances, and a couple of 2014 draftees, Adam Kadlec (Betts) and Peter Kope (Connolly) even traded some punches.
Late in the second Ethan De Jong gave Betts a 2-1 lead after a quick shot that followed a nifty inside-outside move from the left circle. Justin Almeida (Selected in the first round, 2014) came eerily close to tying the game late in the second, but his shot went straight off the post, and Betts led 2-1 after 40 minutes.
Less than a minute into the final period, Tyler Ho (Selected in the third round, 2015) tied the game for Team Connolly after a terrific pass from Almeida. Ho made no mistake with his high shot giving him a goal to compliment his assist from earlier.
The game remained tied until Kyle Wiltshire of Team Betts raced in alone and snuck his low shot past the Connolly netminder. The play started with a terrific pass from Issac Saniga (Selected in the ninth round, 2015). Jackson Leppard (Selected in the first round, 2015) iced the game with an empty-netter to secure the 4-2 victory for Team Betts.
Tomorrow morning the veterans and the rookies will take the ice together for the first of four Saturday Training Camp games. The first game (Team Chara vs. Team Hamhuis) kicks off at 10:00 AM. Team Brewer will then face Team Byfuglien at 12:15 PM. Following the goaltender sessions (2:30 – 4:30 PM), Team Chara will face Team Byfuglien at 5:00 PM and the day wraps up with Team Hamhuis vs. Team Brewer at 7:15 PM.
Training Camp rosters will be available on site, but can also be seen HERE: http://bit.ly/1MT2itm
*All Training Camp games are free to the public.