Jansen Harkins knows the Prince George Cougars are a much better team than what they showed Saturday in a 6-2 loss at home to the Kelowna Rockets.
After looking so impressive the night before in their 3-0 win over the Rockets, the Cougars blew it in the rematch, allowing the Rockets to take control in the second half of the game, and letting their tempers and undisciplined positional play rule out a possible comeback in the final period.
Like the rest of the Cougars, Harkins is frustrated by his team's inability to score. Through seven games, the team has scored just 17 goals, an average of 2.42 goals per game. It's not for lack of trying.
"There are areas we have to improve but I think we played well in stretches and that's what we have to focus on - every shift making something happen and playing your best," said the 18-year-old Harkins, who has a goal and four assists in seven games to start the season.
"We had good chances in the first game and again (Saturday), it's just bearing down and finishing, especially myself. I know I need to focus on that."
Defensively, aside from Saturday's late-game collapse, the Cougars have been quite good. They started the Rocket rematch with a league-leading 2.16 goals-against average. After allowing Kelowna to score six, that dropped to 2.71 - still respectable, but it won't mean much if the Cougars don't start scoring more often to boost themselves in the standings.
The quick turnaround with the Calgary Hitmen in town tonight and Wednesday means the Cougars didn't have much time to dwell on the negatives from Saturday's game. They practiced Sunday morning and Monday to try to work out the bugs.
"We just have to play the game how we know we can play, we've proven it before and I think it's just being confident in ourselves and coming to work," said Harkins. "Competing is the main thing we need to do and just build one day at a time."
Chase Witala, who plays on a line with Harkins and Brad Morrison, had eight shots on goal in Friday's game and finally popped one in Saturday, but like the rest of his linemates, his point totals are nowhere near the team's expectations. Morrison has three goals and two assists in seven games and Witala has been held to three goals and one assist. Lack of production from the top line is not so bad if the team is winning consistently, but the Cougars (3-4-0-0) have yet to post back-to-back wins.
"It's not the end of the world, it happens, we just have to find a way to put a string of wins together," said Witala. "It'll come, I'm not too worried about it."
Harkins, Witala and Morrison are all minus players, which means they've been scored on more often than they've scored while at even strength. Harkins and Witala are both at minus-4 along with defenceman Joseph Carvalho, tied for worst on the team, and Morrison is not far behind at minus-3. Defenceman and Cougar captain Sam Ruopp leads in that category with a plus-5.
Defenceman Tate Olson leads the Cougars in scoring with seven points, all of them assists.
Cougars goalie Ty Edmonds, who was stellar in posting a 35-save shutout Friday, allowed three goals on 23 Rocket shots in 40 minutes of playing time Saturday. Edmonds has played in five games and ranks seventh in the WHL with a 1.93 goals-against average and has a .940 save percentage. The numbers aren't quite so stingy for Mack Shields, the former Hitmen goalie, who sports a 3.86 average and .847 save percentage in three games.
The Hitmen (6-3-0-1) moved up to fifth overall in the Eastern Conference Sunday afternoon in Calgary, ending a two-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Regina Pats. The Hitmen got off to a decent start this season and were ranked third in the CHL last week but their stock has fallen They lost 10-2 to Moose Jaw on home ice last Thursday and were blanked 6-0 by the Medicine Hat Tigers on the road Saturday night.
The Hitmen are still without their top goaltender, 20-year-old Brendan Burke, who went down with a lower-body injury Oct. 2 after stopping all 24 shots he faced while Calgary was on the way to a 3-2 win over Brandon. That was the Wheat Kings' only regulation-time loss in nine games this season. Kyle Dumba and Lasse Petersen have been filling in for Burke.
Calgary defenceman Matt Dorsey is also out with a lower-body injury and right winger Jake Virtanen remains in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks. The Hitmen have five other NHL-drafted players - D Travis Sanheim (17th overall, Philadelphia, 2014), D Ben Thomas (Tampa Bay, fourth round, 2014), RW Chase Lang (sixth round, Minnesota, 2014), C Radel Fazleev (Philadelphia, sixth round, 2014) and C Pavel Karnaukhov (Calgary, fifth round, 2015). Sanheim had three assists in Sunday's game and now leads Calgary in scoring with 15 points, including three goals.
Defenceman Jake Bean, 17, scored twice and had an assist in the win over the Pats and is now second among the Hitmen with 14 points in 10 games. Bean is listed by NHL Central Scouting as a B prospect (second- or third-round candidate) for next year's draft while centre Beck Malenstyn is considered a C prospect (fourth-, fifth- or sixth-round candidate).
LOOSE PUCKS: Former Cougar D Marc McNulty picked up a goal and an assist in his debut with the Moose Jaw Warriors Saturday night in Edmonton. McNulty, 20, was traded by the Kamloops Blazers Thursday to the Warriors for 19-year-old D Dallas Valentine. The Blazers acquired McNulty at the trade deadline last year in the deal that sent D Josh Connolly to Prince George. Thursday was the deadline for WHL teams to declare their 20-year-olds... Tonight's game could be the first in a Cougar uniform for 19-year-old D Shaun Dosanjh. The six-foot-one, 195-pound native of Richmond was acquired last week from the Vancouver Giants in a trade for F Haydn Hopkins.
