GAME PREVIEW: GM 12 vs. Vancouver Giants
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Last Game: The Prince George Cougars are winless in their last three games, after they suffered a 4-1 setback to the Kelowna Rockets on Saturday. Koehn Ziemmer scored his third goal of the season, as he opened the scoring in the second period. The replied with four unanswered goals, two from Jake Lee, to pick up the victory. Taylor Gauthier was admirable in defeat, as he stopped 30 of 34 shots. The power-play went 0-5 and the penalty-kill was 3-4. The power-play has scored just once over the last eight games (1-30).
Tonight’s Game: Tonight, is the third of 12 meetings with the Vancouver Giants. The two teams are in a stretch of playing one another three times in six days. They last met on Friday in Langley, where the Cougars fell 3-1. Riley Heidt scored the Cougars’ only goal in the setback. Prince George has lost their last three games. The Giants have won two in a row, posting back-to-back 3-1 wins over Portland and Prince George on the weeekend. These two teams meet again tomorrow night at the CN Centre.
Season Series
| Oct 8th at Vancouver 6-4 L | Dec 18th at Vancouver 7:00 pm |
| Nov 5th at Vancouver 3-1 L | Jan 14th at Vancouver 7:30 pm |
| Nov 9th at Prince George 7:00 pm | Jan 15th at Vancouver 7:00 pm |
| Nov 10th at Prince George 7:00 pm | Feb 11th at Prince George 7:00 pm |
| Dec 14th at Prince George 7:00 pm | Feb 12th at Prince George 7:00 pm |
| Dec 15th at Prince George 7:00 pm | Mar 27th at Vancouver 4:00 pm |
Prince George Cougars
General Manager & Head Coach: Mark Lamb
2021-22 Record: GP 11 5-6-0-0 (4th B.C.)
2021-22 Record vs. Vancouver: 0-2-0-0
2020-21 Record vs. Vancouver: 4-1-0-1
Home: 3-2-0-0
Streak: 0-3-0-0
Last Game: 4-1 loss at Kelowna Rockets (Nov 6th)
Season Leaders : Riley Heidt (4-8-12), Craig Armstrong (4-5-9), Hudson Thornton (2-7-9), Jonny Hooker (5-3-8), Viliam Kmec (0-8-8)
Game Notes
- The Cougars look to snap a three-game losing streak, as they open up a six-game home stand tonight. It’s a busy stretch, as the Cougars play four home games in five nights. After tonight, they play the Giants again tomorrow and then the Kelowna Rockets on Friday and Saturday. The home stand concludes November 19th and 20th against the Tri-City Americans.
- Prince George had scored 31 goals through their first eight games but just three over their last three games. Through 11 games, they’re averaging just over three goals per game.
- The specials teams have been at opposite ends of the rankings. The Cougars power-play has scored just once in the last eight games (1/30) and now is 22nd in the WHL. On the flip side, the penalty-kill has been excellent, conceding just three goals in the last eight (24/27) and is ranked second in the entire league at 86 percent.
- Playing with the lead will be a big key for the Cougars to end the losing streak. When they lead after the first they’re 2-1-0-0 and undefeated (3-0-0-0) when leading after two periods.
- Kyren Gronick, Riley Heidt, and Carter MacAdams all have two points against the Giants this season.
- Prince George is 2-2-0-0 in the first game of back-to-backs.
Vancouver Giants
General Manager: Barclay Parneta
Head Coach: Michael Dyck
2021-22 Record: GP 9 6-2-1-0 (2nd B.C. Division)
2021-22 Record vs. Prince George: 2-0-0-0
2020-21 Record vs. Prince George: 2-4-0-0
Away: 1-1-1-0
Streak: 4-0-1-0
Last Game: 3-1 win vs. Portland Winterhawks (Nov 6th)
Season Leaders: Justin Sourdif (5-10-15), Ty Thorpe (5-7-12), Fabian Lysell (2-9-11), Adam Hall (5-5-10), Payton Mount (3-4-7)
Game Notes
- Tonight, is the debut of the two newest Giants in defencemen Alex Cotton and Evan Toth. Both were acquired last Friday in two separate transactions. Cotton, a Detroit Red Wings draft pick, was acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes for four draft picks and the WHL rights to 2005-born defenceman Hunter McInnes. The 20-year-old defenceman had six points (4-2-6) in eight games with the Hurricanes prior to the trade. Toth, 19, was picked up from the Calgary Hitmen for a sixth-round selection in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft. The Winnipeg, MB product had one assist in nine games for the Hitmen.
- Ty Thorpe (1-4-5) and Justin Sourdif (2-3-5) both have five points on the season so far against Prince George.
- Thorpe has recorded points in six straight games. He’s collected eight points (4-4-8) during his point streak.
- The Giants penalty kill has gone 9/9 against Prince George so far while the power play has gone 1/8.
- Vancouver seems to be rounding into form. They posted back-to-back 3-1 wins over the weekend and are 5-0 this season when they allow three goals or less. Head Coach Michael Dyck looks to have his team back where they want to be when it comes to the defensive side of things.
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