Cal Babych isn't at all superstitious when it comes to the number 13.
He was quite comfortable wearing those digits on his back for the Prince George Cougars until this week, when the St. Louis Blues returned Zach Pochiro from the ECHL to the Cougars.
As a show of respect, the 17-year-old Babych readily agreed to give the 20-year-old centre his number back for Pochiro's return to Prince George ice Wednesday night.
Triskaidekaphobia (the fear of 13) has never crept into Babych's vocabulary but maybe there was some bad mojo working against him with that number on his back. Wearing No. 16 for the second straight game, Babych conjured up his best offensive showing of the season, scoring two goals to spark the Cougars to a 6-1 win over the Vancouver Giants.
Babych ripped a slapshot from just inside the blueline to break a 1-1 deadlock 16 minutes into the first period. The 17-year-old son of former NHL defenceman Dave Babych was helped by the lively end boards at CN Centre in the second period, picking up the carom for a tap-in close to the post for his second of the game.
Playing on a line with Haydn Hopkins and Colby McAuley, Babych came into the game with one goal and one assist in the 12 games he's played for the Cougars since being acquired in a trade from the Calgary Hitmen on Oct. 3. Hopkins also had his most productive night as a Cougar with three assists as the game's first star.
The win brought the Cougars (12-12-0-0) back up the .500 mark. They remain third in the B.C. Division and fifth overall in the Western Conference. The Giants (9-13-0-0) are fifth in the division and 10th in the conference.
"They got what they deserved, they worked hard and paid attention to detail," said Cougars head coach Mark Holick, about his team. "It was a bit sloppy in the first period but I thought our last 40 was real good."
Ty Edmonds provided strong goaltending all game for the Cougars, making 24 saves for his 11th victory. Edmonds was back to good health after he fell ill for Tuesday's game.
As they've done in 19 of their 24 games this season, the Cats opened the scoring. Jansen Harkins gained the puck behind the Vancouver net and put it right on the stick of linemate Chase Witala, whose high snap shot from a sharp angle went in over Cody Porter's shoulder. Porter, a 17-year-old rookie, earned the start after a strong relief appearance Tuesday in the Giants' 6-4 comeback win over the Cougars.
The Giants didn't get their first shot on goal until the game was nearly 12 minutes old but made it count. A centring attempt kicked out to Carter Popoff, who blasted it past a screened Edmonds.
In the third period Brad Morrison added to the total on a power play, cashing in a fat rebound into an open net for his seventh of the season, which stretched the lead to 4-1.
Pochiro drew his first point later in the period, assisting on Witala's second of the game and team-leading 13th goal of the season on a Cats' power play. Chance Braid also joined in the fun, scoring his sixth, at even strength.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Cougars went 4-4-0-0 on their eight-game homestand. Having spent the past 25 days in Prince George they'll board the bus today for Kamloops, where they'll face the Blazers Friday night. On Saturday they revisit the Giants in Vancouver, where the Cats have been outscored 15-2 in the previous two games. The Cougars have been at home for the past 25 days... Giants forward Tyler Benson missed both games in Prince George. He hasn't played since the first week of the month when he went down with an upper-body injury playing for Canada Black at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Nova Scotia. The 16-year-old Benson has 11 points in 12 games for the Giants this season.
