PREVIEW: Cougars vs Giants – Game #39
Tonight at the CN Centre a near sellout is expected when the Prince George Cougars and Vancouver Giants renew their rivalry. So far this season the Cougars are 3-1 against Vancouver but the road team has won all four games of the season series up to this point. Last night the Giants power play was the difference in their 4-1 victory in Prince George. Home losses have been few and far between for the Cougars as of late, so tonight the word ‘response’ will again be a major buzz word used as the Cougars look for their first victory of 2016 in their rematch.
VANCOUVER GIANTS
Overview:
Lorne Molleken’s Vancouver Giants are rolling having gone 6-3-1-0 in their past 10 games. They’ve won five of their last seven games overall and with last night’s victory they moved within six points of eighth place in the Western Conference standings. Last night’s victory against Prince George was their first of the season. A win for Vancouver tonight would make them the first team all season to take both games of a double-header against the Cougars.
Who’s Up Front:
19-year-old forward Thomas Foster has missed most of this season with injury but in just his fourth game of the season last night he exploded in a big way with two goals and an assist. Fresh off a 46 point season in 2014-15, Foster is a former first round pick that has really started to figure things out offensively and with good health the rest of the way this season Foster could be a major impact piece to try and help get Vancouver into a playoff spot. He’s got four points in his four games played this season.
Who’s on D:
The game winning goal was scored last night by Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Ben Thomas who buried his fourth of the season on a power play mid-way through the second period. After a tough start to his season in Calgary, a trade to Vancouver has seemed to reinvigorate Thomas, at least offensively where he’s got four goals and 13 points in 27 games with the Giants. As one of the elder statesmen on the Giants blueline, Thomas sees a lot of tough minutes against the opposing team’s top guys and tonight should again be no exception.
Who’s in Goal:
The first star of last night’s game was Vancouver goaltender Ryan Kubic who made 30 saves on 31 shots faced. Many of Kubic’s big saves came in the first and the third period when the game was either tied or when the Cougars were attempting to comeback. In his last nine games he’s 6-2-1-0 and the argument could easily be made that the Giants fortunes this season truly turned around when Kubic became their lead guy between the pipes. No doubt the Giants are hoping that he has a repeat performance up his sleeve for tonight’s rematch assuming he gets the start.
X-Factor:
Special teams were a major difference in the game last night for the Giants who went three-for-four on the power play and were also a perfect three-for-three on the penalty kill. To win consistently on the road you need to have discipline, you need goaltending and you need timely scoring and the Giants had all of those things last night. Full marks to Lorne Molleken’s team who continued their impressive play as of late with a big win on the road, which should give them some added confidence heading into the rematch.
PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS
Overview:
Mark Holick’s Prince George Cougars come into tonight’s game with an overall record of 23-13-1-1. Their 48 points still put them just a single point back of Victoria for second place in the B.C. Division standings. Last night’s loss halted a modest two game winning streak for the Cougars who are now 6-4 in their last 10 games. Despite the loss the Cougars have no reason to feel down as it was just their second regulation home loss since the middle of October. Maybe too often as of late for Mark Holick’s liking the Cougars have had to ‘respond’ well after a loss, and tonight calls for more of the same as the Cougars take aim at their 24th victory.
Who’s Up Front:
The Cougars best forward on the ice last night was Chase Witala who wasn’t able to keep his goal scoring streak intact, but with a second period assist moved his point streak to five straight games dating back to December 19th. His 24 goals puts him tied with Jesse Gabrielle for the team lead in that department and now in four games against the Giants he has four goals and five assists for nine points which is tops on the team. After the game Mark Holick hinted that he didn’t get ‘enough’ from his top forwards who showed spurts of promise, but were unable to put together a full 60 against Vancouver. The good news: Back-to-back tough games have been rare for the Cougars all season long, and with a jacked up crowd tonight at CN Centre look for the forwards especially to take full advantage of the added noise and emotion in the building.
Who’s on D:
Last night’s game was a bit of an anomaly given the fact that none of the four goals against the Cougars came at even strength. Three of Vancouver’s goals were scored on the power play while the final goal was into an empty net. Five-on-five the Cougars controlled the play for the most part, and despite a few point-blank chances for Vancouver it wasn’t like they were a constant thorn in the Cougars side. However with all of that said the Cougars were still on the wrong end of the score, and tonight the Cougars will need to bring a steady and strong defensive effort as the Giants will be hungry for a sweep.
Who’s in Goal:
Last night Ty Edmonds made some timely saves for the Cougars and can’t necessarily be faulted for some of the goals against considering that all three against him came via the Vancouver Giants’ power play. However last night’s game was one of the rare times this season that the Prince George Cougars got ‘out-goaltended’ by the opposition. Tonight in the rematch the Cougars will need to be mindful of that fact as they’ll be facing a hungry and determined Giants team looking to make their mark on the weekend. In order to win tonight goaltending will no doubt need to be a big factor for the Cougars.
X-Factor:
Special teams were such a strong point for the Cougars in December that they can be forgiven for one minor ‘blip’ every now and then. Mark Holick talks all the time about not letting bad habits escalate, and despite a tough night on the PK it’s important for the Cougars to get right back on the horse and back to their strengths. Mentally it will be important for the Cougars to stay the course and use the crowd and their experience to their advantage as the Cougars take aim at their fourth victory in five tries against Vancouver in 2015-16.
