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Cats clawed by soft goals |
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Written by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
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Sunday, 30 November 2008 |
Can anyone stop the puck? Anyone? Please?
The Prince George Cougars, who have enough other problems to keep both the coaching staff and a team of sports psychologists working round-the-clock, were harpooned by their goaltenders in weekend losses to the Regina Pats and Saskatoon Blades.
On Sunday, weak shots hit the back of the net early and often, leading to a 7-3 Blades win at CN Centre.
The saddest statement about the first period was this -- the Cougars actually held a lead, getting the opening goal from Dallas Jackson.
They then promptly soiled the ice, or, more accurately, the crease. A mere 17 seconds later Gaelen Patterson equalized. In rapid-fire succession -- Adam Chorneyko; Milan Kytnar, chasing starting netminder Joe Caligiuri; Darian Dziurzynski, who made it 4-1 for the Blades; and finally Walker Wintoneak, with Dziurzynski earning his third point, changed the scoreboard to 5-1.
“We need a save -- we do,” said Cougars head coach Drew Schoneck.
“We’d played the best 11 minutes of this last stretch, of this funk we’re in, and we had a 1-0 lead. No sooner were the guys congratulating each other than it was in the back of our net, a save-able puck.
“When things are bad, they can all go bad. We were all but out of the hockey game by the time the second period rolled around. We gave up bad goals that are killers.”
In the midst of all that, the Cougars failed to score on 1:56 of two-man advantage time. Why? Because Blades goaltender Braden Holtby, a Washington Capital draft choice, stopped the puck to bail out his teammates. The Cougars weren’t afforded the same luxury -- or the same reasonable expectation for this level of hockey.
Caligiuri went back to opening the gate after allowing three goals on 11 shots, and Kevin Armstrong surrendered four goals on 29 shots.
It all left the gentlemen on media row wondering -- has a team ever made a mid-game trade for a goaltender? And what about dressing one of the fourth-liners in gear?
“I did hear a fan yell, ‘put the coach in net,’ so maybe we’ll have to try that,” said Schoneck, managing the faintest of smiles in a difficult time that will almost certainly lead him to the unemployment line -- soon, or after the season.
“(Caligiuri and Armstrong) feel bad, they do. They’re trying, and it’s a good group of kids in there. They want to win, and this is a tough stretch and confidence is at an all-time low. But we need more from (the goalies), they’re proven winners in this league.”
Armstrong, who started his WHL career with Saskatoon, made a few tough saves in the second period, but by then it was too late. Justin Maylan’s fourth goal of the season, a power-play marker, drew the Cougars within three goals, with the only goal of the period.
As the announced crowd of 2,054 can attest, it was far too little, far too late. That crowd was the lowest-ever to witness a WHL game at CN Centre, which became home to the Cougars for the 1995-96 season.
“(The Cougars) came off a real tough loss (Saturday) and we wanted to get off to a quick start,” said Saskatoon coach/general manager Lorne Molleken, a former pro goaltender who allowed a softy or two in his own career.
“When need be, Holtby was there for us. You need your goaltender to be good each and every night to have a chance to win, and one thing I will say about Prince George is that they didn’t give up, even with what happened in the first period.”
Maylan added his second goal in the third, but the Blades got goals from Wintoneak and Derek Hulak.
Pats 7 Cougars 1
About 100 friends and family of Fort Fraser product Damien Ketlo drowned out the 2,300 others in attendance as Ketlo, 17, nearly picked up his first WHL shutout.
Ketlo, a former Cariboo Cougars major midget starter, stopped 28 shots and the Pats scored 17 seconds in, ending the suspense for all intents and purposes.
Brett Leffler had two goals, with singles by Michael MacAngus (the game-opener), Rudolf Cerveny, Graham Hood, Mitch Czebere and rooke Koltyn Miller, who registered his first WHL goal after an embarrassing giveaway by Caligiuri.
Dana Tyrell had the lone goal for the Cougars, connecting in the third period.
KITTY LITTER -- The Cougars are home to Everett this coming Friday and Saturday, marking the return of winger Dale Hunt, a former first-round pick, for the first time since he left the team after a dispute with the coaching staff... After being briefly split up, Tyrell and Brett Connolly were back on a line with Marek Viedensky this weekend... There was no reaction from those in the building Sunday as Blades defenceman Stefan Elliott, 17, made his first appearance at CN Centre. Elliott was the first-round pick of the Cougars and refused to report, later traded to Saskatoon in the Devin Setoguchi deal... Average attendance at Cougars home games this season -- 2,670. Last season, the team averaged 2,815... The Cougars are 7-6-0-1 at home now after starting 5-0.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 01 December 2008 )
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