It might be a new ice age in Cougarville but if Friday's result was any indication there's still plenty of work to do before the Prince George Cougars can be considered Western Hockey League contenders.
A night that began with so much promise ended in utter disappointment for the 5,659 fans and their new owners who came to CN Centre expecting their hometown Cougars to contend with the Kelowna Rockets.
The Rockets were full value for a 7-2 victory in the Cats' season-opener at home, scoring five unanswered goals in the second period in a crushing display of firepower.
Looking a lot like the team that led the WHL last season with 57 wins in 72 games, the Rockets pounded in three more goals in a 2:26 span of the middle period for a 5-1 lead, prompting Cougar coach Mark Holick to yank starting netminder Ty Edmonds early, for the second consecutive game. But it wasn't Edmonds' fault. The Cougars were guilty slow puck movement, loose coverage and ill-advised passes which exposed their defensive weaknesses they will have to address early to keep the casual fans coming back.
On the Rockets' third goal, the first of two on the night for Colton Heffley, the Cougars were victims of bad puck luck. A pass to nobody sailed through the crease and deflected off the skate of Ruopp, right onto the blade of Heffley's stick with no Cougar in sight.
Baillie got his second of the game while flat on his stomach near the Cats' cage, whacking in puck that dropped perfectly in chipping range for the 18-year-old centre. While he was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time, the goal was a result of a lot of hard work from the Rockets, who kept their feet moving to force the play.
On the Rockets' fifth goal, defenceman Marc McNulty showed a lack of urgency to clear the puck from behind his net and Cole Linaker had time to gain control and feed a quick pass to Heffley from behind the net.
The Cougars line of Jansen Harkins, with Chance Braid and Chase Witala as his wingers had plenty of jump most of the game. Witala's rush with the puck cutting across the middle of the ice left him open for a long shot and Cats defenceman Sam Ruopp raced in to tap in the rebound with 4:36 gone in the second period.
The Rockets returned fire with consecutive goals to take the lead in the middle of the second period. First, Tyson Bailie won a footrace with Ruopp down the left wing and beat Edmonds with a rooftop shot. About a minute later, with Cougars defenceman Marc McNulty off for tripping, former Cougar Carter Rigby spotted Justin Kirkland unguarded near the goalpost and fed him a perfect pass for the rapid redirect into the net.
Once they had their lead, with the crowd noise dampened, there was no stopping Kelowna, which improved to 2-0-0-0 on the season. The loss was the second straight for the Cougars, now 1-2-0-0.
Slovakian import David Soltes, who missed all but 15 games last season with a knee injury, made his return to the Cougars memorable in the third period, cashing in a 5-on-3 power play chance with backhander. Kirkland made it 6-2 a few minutes later on a point shot rebound given up by Cougars relief goalie Tavin Grant and Tate Coghlin added another late on the power play.
The Cougars had a hard time getting anything going early on, outshot 9-3 in the first period, but didn't allow any goals. Part of that had to be nerves, playing in front of an unusually packed house, but more of a factor in their lack of offence was the fact they had to kill three minor penalties in the opening 20 minutes. The Rockets finished 2-for-6 on the power play while the Cats went 1-for-3.
Shots were 34-27 in favour of the Rockets.
LOOSE PUCKS: The same teams meet tonight in the rematch at CN Centre (7 p.m. start). The big crowd and a new electronic system generated big bucks in the 50-50 draw. One lucky winner went home with $11,598...The Cats are teaming up tonight with CIBC's Run for the Cure and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation to sponsor Pink in the Rink Night. During the second intermission Chuck-the-Puck contest one fan will win four tickets to a Vancouver Canucks game, hotel accommodation and gas money.
