On To Spokane
Prince George, BC – The Prince George Cougars have a date with the reigning Memorial Cup Champions Sunday to finish off three games in as many night. The Cougars and Spokane Chiefs will meet for the second time this season, with the Cougars looking for a much different result.
The Cougars (23-34-0-2) are also looking to bounce back after a 5-1 loss to the Kelowna Rockets on Saturday night. The damage was done in the first period by the Rockets, jumping out to a 3-0 lead and never looking back to finish with six wins in the nine game season series between the BC division rivals. Mikael Backlund led the way for the Rockets with two goals and a helper, while Greg Fraser scored the only Cougar goal in the second period, unassisted, for his sixth goal of the year. Joe Caligiuri made his first start in goal for the Cougars since January 24th and after a shaky first period, Caligiuri wound up with 30 saves on the night. The Cougars and Rockets couldn’t find the goal on the power play. The Cougars went 0-for-5 while the Rockets were 0-for-4.
The Cougars are south of the border for the next two games, starting with the Chiefs (37-16-0-3). The Cats fell 4-1 to the Chiefs at Spokane Arena October 25 and have lost five in a row to Spokane, with all five losses by three goals or more. It’s been nearly two years since the Cougars last win over the Chiefs, with a 5-2 victory February 23, 2007 in Spokane. The Cougars and Chiefs will have back-to-back games to finish the season series March 6 and 7, the final home games of the season for the Cougars. The Cats go into Sunday’s game eighth in the Western Conference, still 14 points ahead of Chilliwack, while the Chiefs are third in the Conference, only four points behind US division leading Tri-City. The Chiefs have won 15 of their last 17 games.
The Cougars will remain a factor in the race for tops in the US division Tuesday to close out the four game road trip. The Cougars will take on the Americans for the third time this season. The two teams will meet again on the final night of the WHL season March 15.
Following Tuesday’s game, the Cougars will come home to begin a seven game homestand with a date against the Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday, February 20, starting at 7:00. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster by calling 250-564-5585 or going online at www.ticketmaster.ca.
