Nick McBride wears a mask which hides his identity but in his brief time stopping pucks for the Prince George Cougars he's become an instant celebrity around his new hockey home.
The Edmonton Oil Kings might not recognize him under all that equipment but he was the guy flashing the bright green leather pads in front of their shots Saturday night at CN Centre.
Picking up where he left off the night before in a two-goal win over Edmonton, the 18-year-old from Maple Ridge was nearly flawless in the rematch, making 27 saves in a 6-1 thumping of the Oil Kings.
"Really for me it just feels great getting back on the ice, it's been a long time and getting a couple wins for the boys helps their confidence and that feels good," said McBride. "Yesterday definitely helped me build towards today, just to get in there. I know I made a few mistakes that are kind of hard for the fans to see but I sort of got the jitters out and I was much better in this game."
McBride played two full seasons with the Prince Albert Raiders before he was traded to Prince George Thursday for a second-round bantam pick in 2016. Before Friday, he hadn't played in a meaningful game since March 20. McBride made his Cougar debut that night coming in as an injury replacement for Ty Edmonds, who tweaked his hamstring while making a second-period save. It didn't take McBride long to show the Saturday crowd of 2,662 why the Los Angeles Kings decided to invite him to their rookie camp in September.
He slammed the door on Brandon Baddock on a breakaway while the game was still scoreless and did the same thing to Brett Pollack in the second period. His best save came at the end of the second period when he got it the way of bullet blast from Garan Magnes, who put all he had into the shot and injured his knee when he fell while pivoting.
In one of their most complete games this year, the Cougars fed off an early two-goal lead and went on to hand the Oil Kings their worst loss of the season. The Cougars' power play, which was struggling at a 2-for-33 pace heading into the weekend, went 5-for-8 in the two games, while the Cougar penalty-killers held the Oil Kings scoreless in three chances each game.
Jesse Gabrielle was the offensive star for the Cougars with two goals and an assist. The 18-year-old Boston Bruins prospect collected his league-leading fifth shorthanded goal to make it 4-0 in the second period, punctuated by a high-leaping celebration into the glass, and added a power-play marker a few minutes later -- his 14th goal of the season, tops among Cougars.
"Coming out of the gate we came out hot and we got on guys on the forecheck and we made plays," said Gabrielle. "It's just being aggressive (on the penalty kill). Lots of guys are kind of passive looking for the lines and thinking offence but if you're taking time and space away from them and pressuring them as much as possible they'll make mistakes."
Brad Morrison was also a standout with a goal and two assists. Tate Olson, with his first goal of the season, turned in another strong game on defence in his second game back from an injury.
Jared Bethune and Brogan O'Brien also fired pucks into the net. Rookie defenceman Joel Lakusta earned his first WHL points with a pair of assists.
The Cougars wasted no time creating havoc in front of goalie Payton Lee, making his first start for the Oil Kings since joining the team Thursday in a trade from Vancouver. They didn't score right away but it was obvious early on the Cougars meant business.
"With the outcome this weekend, we were on our details, the kids worked hard," said Cougars assistant coach Mike Hengen.
"Nick was great. Obviously, for his situation coming here since the trade, it wasn't ideal and then with Ty having leave Friday night's a game it was a difficult spot for the kid and it just shows his character."
McBride finally allowed his first goal as a Cougar 7:33 into the third period when Dario Meyer was left unguarded in front to rap in a rebound, ending the shutout string that lasted 79 minutes 14 seconds. In the absence of Edmonds, who was on crutches Saturday, the Cougars called up 17-year-old Tavin Grant from the junior B Kamloops Storm and he backed up McBride on Saturday.
