PREVIEW: Cougars at Americans – Game #63
Tonight in Kennewick, WA the Prince George Cougars will wrap up their four game US road-swing with their fourth and final meeting of the season with the Tri-City Americans. The Cougars are no doubt feeling encouraged by their effort last night: A 6-0 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. A victory tonight gives them a .500 record for the trip which is always good on the road, and could also give them 11 points of separation from the ninth ranked Tri-City Americans who are currently chasing down a playoff spot in their own right. The Cougars will also have redemption on their minds as they look to make amends for a disappointing 4-1 loss in Kennewick on Tuesday.
TRI-CITY AMERICANS
Overview:
Mike Williamson’s Tri-City Americans are coming into tonight’s game with an overall record of 29-28-2-1. Their 61 points have them on the outside looking into the Western Conference playoff picture as they trail the eighth placed Kamloops Blazers by 4 points. They do however hold a game in hand. Never the less, with 12 games remaining in their season the Americans need to maintain their winning ways as they’ve gone 6-3-0-1 in their past 10 games. So far this season the Ams’ are 2-1 against the Cougars and were 4-1 winners at home on Tuesday against them. This marks the second game of three games in three nights for the Ams’ as they fell last night at home by a 4-2 score to Seattle.
Who’s Up Front:
So far this season the Ams’ have gotten great contributions from both a rookie and a veteran against the Prince George Cougars. 20-year-old Parker Bowles not only leads the Ams in scoring outright with 35 goals and 81 points, but he also has four points in three games against the Cougars which is tied with rookie Michael Rasmussen for the team lead in that regard. Rasmussen is a 16-year-old with incredible upside. He’s got 15 goals and 36 points in 51 games, which are great numbers for a rookie still trying to learn the ins and outs of the Western Hockey League. Keeping both Bowles and Rasmussen in check will be key tonight for the Cougars.
Who’s on D:
The Boston Bruins knew they grabbed a good one when they drafted hulking defenceman Brandon Carlo early in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft. Carlo will never wow you offensively, but he’s definitely a presence on the back-end for the Tri-City Americans. Size? He’s got it at 6’5.” Dependability? He plays in every situation and tonight should be no different as Carlo will likely see a bulk of the minutes against the Cougars top forwards. Carlo has also managed four points in three games against the Cougars this season, so the Cats will need to be mindful of his ability to contribute offensively tonight as well.
Who’s in Goal:
Rookie Nick Sanders has gone on a nice little run as of late for the Tri-City Americans. Though he’s played sparingly this season (just 15 games) he’s come up with some big victories for the Ams’ this season, including last Tuesday’s 4-1 game. Sanders is 5-3-0-1 with a 2.89 goals-against-average and a .903 save percentage and in fact he came into last night’s game to relieve Evan Sarthou and played well stopping 15 of the 16 shots fired his way. There’s no official word yet on whether Mike Williamson will give Sanders another go here tonight against the Cougars, or perhaps it will be Evan Sarthou’s turn. Sarthou has been a real workhorse for the Americans having appeared in 53 games with a 24-25-2-0 record.
X-Factor:
Tuesday night the Tri-City Americans really set the tone early with their physical play, and it really paid off. Despite not scoring, the trio of Mackenze Stewart, Nolan Yaremko and Maxwell James did a terrific job of defending the Cougars and taking away their time and space through the neutral zone. Considering that fatigue will likely be a factor for both teams tonight, it might be a game that’s ultimately decided in the trenches, an whatever team is able to bring the most physicality while staying disciplined will come out on top.
PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS
Overview:
Mark Holick’s Prince George Cougars are back in the win column following last night’s 6-0 triumph over the Spokane Chiefs. Now the Cougars record sits at 33-25-3-1, three points and two victories ahead of their final record from a season ago with 10 games still remaining. They are now 1-2 on their current road swing and are now once again over .500 on the road as they get set for another matchup with the Tri-City Americans tonight. The Cougars are 2-7-1-0 in their last 10 games and a victory tonight would certainly have the Cougars back in a strong frame of mind as they head home for their next four games straight on home ice. A win tonight would also even their season series with the Tri-City Americans.
Who’s Up Front:
Last night the Cougars needed their top guns to deliver and that’s exactly what they did. Six different Cougars forwards scored goals, and the encouraging sign was that they got great contributions from three of their four lines and the offense was spread around nicely. Jansen Harkins, Chase Witala and Brad Morrison each had two points, while Brogan O’Brien and Luke Harrison snapped lengthy goal-scoring droughts with their third period goals. It was definitely an encouraging game, and now the Cougars will look to build on that success when they clash with the Americans tonight in Kennewick.
Who’s on D:
The Prince George Cougars have put forth two very solid defensive efforts in a row which is not always easy to do when you’re on the road, and it deserves mentioning again how young the Cougars are on the back-end without the likes of Sam Ruopp, Shaun Dosanjh and Josh Anderson. Yet the young players seized the moment again last night and took advantage of their minutes and played remarkably well given the circumstances. Tonight they’ll look to make it three straight games as they face a Tri-City attack that has quite a bit of speed and size. It won’t be an easy game defensively, but the Cougars will be ready for the challenge and the task at hand. Once again the onus will be on the veterans Tate Olson and Joe Carvalho to log the most minutes and provide a calming influence on the back-end.
Who’s in Goal:
Ty Edmonds continued the Cougars recent stretch of solid goaltending with a 35 save shutout yesterday, and the Cougars can now definitely say that they’ve had excellent goaltending in five consecutive games. It’s very simple: With good goaltending you have a chance to win every single game you play, and tonight Nick McBride will likely take his turn and will look to help the Cougars continue their winning ways. McBride was excellent Wednesday despite the 1-0 loss in Spokane and you can bet that he’ll be hungry to get back between the pipes and maintain his strong play as of late as well.
X-Factor:
Last night in Spokane we saw the ‘real’ Prince George Cougars. A Northern team that stands up for one another and does not back down physically. Consequently the Cougars won the game and also won the war. It was a terrific game from a team stand-point and hopefully a game that they can continue to build on as their regular season winds down. A win tonight accomplishes a lot both standings-wise and confidence-wise for this team, and the approach for tonight will hopefully stay the same as the Cougars chase down their 34th victory of the season in the Tri-Cities tonight.
