The Kamloops Blazers are in town this weekend for a two-game weekend set and they've brought with them the leading scorer in the Western Hockey League.
Left winger Cole Ully is setting a blistering pace with nine goals and 26 points in just 17 games and he'll be looking to pad those stats tonight at CN Centre (7 p.m. start) against the Prince George Cougars.
The Dallas Stars obviously like what they see in the 19-year-old Calgary native, picked by the Stars in the fifth round of the 2013 draft. So does the WHL, which this week added Ully to the roster for the Subway Super Series. The two-game series against Russia will be played Nov. 10 in Saskatoon and Nov. 11 in Brandon.
Ully was sick with the flu and missed the Blazers' 4-1 loss to Everett on Wednesday but should be ready to play this weekend. Heading into that game in Kamloops he'd put together back-to-back six-point weeks which vaulted him into the scoring lead. He's now on pace for a 110-point season.
The Cougars have been getting consistent scoring from 20-year-old right winger Jari Erricson, who has 10 goals and 16 points through 16 games. Erricson said the Cougars will have to pay attention to Ully and his linemates C Matt Needham and rookie RW Deven Sideroff, but most importantly the Cats have to focus on playing better overall team defence and getting more out of their special teams.
"We'll definitely have to key on some of their stronger guys -- we've been working on our penalty kill and our D-zone -- we'll have to clean that up and get on those guys," said Erricson. "In practice we've been emphasizing more aggression on PK and just quicker puck movement on the power play. Hopefully the goals will come and we'll keep more out of our net."
The Blazers rank second in the B.C. Division, sporting a 9-7-1-0 record with 19 points in 17 games. The Cougars (8-8-0-0) are not far off that pace with 16 points through 16 games. The most glaring difference between the teams is the number of goals the Cougars have given up -- 70 goals in 16 games, a league-worst average of 4.375 per game. Their goals-for, goals-against ratio is minus-23. The Blazers have been much better, allowing 58 goals in 17 games for a 3.41 average. That's one less goal allowed than the Blazers have scored.
In their most recent game, Sunday in Calgary, the Cougars did manage to hold the Hitmen to one power play goal in five chances. But they rank 22nd out of 22 teams in penalty killing, keeping teams from scoring on only 66.3 per cent of their penalties. Kamloops is 15th in the league, averaging 78.8 per cent.
The Cougars are also the most penalized WHL team, averaging 23.4 minutes of sinbin time. The Blazers (who also face the Cats Sunday at 2 p.m.) are 10th in penalties, with a 15.1-minute average per game.
"A lot of times we aren't too disciplined and we have to keep out of the box, especially when we don't have that strong of a penalty kill," said Erricson. "Those kills can be big momentum-changers.
"I've been on both ends of the spectrum on teams that have hardly any penalties and teams that have a lot and I find the difference is just hard work. You have to keep your feet moving. Rather than back-checking a guy with your stick you have to get back hard and finish with your body. We can't be lazy. We've been taking a lot of stick penalties, that's the majority of them."
Unless the Cougars have made radical changes, don't expect much this weekend from their 20th-ranked power play, sputtering along at a 14.1 per cent success rate. The Blazers are ninth overall, scoring on 21.9 per cent of their chances.
Erricson has taken 32 penalty minutes but only a handful of those minutes have been a result of bad penalties where he's either lost his cool or got caught out of position. He'll be teamed this weekend with centre Chase Witala and left wing Chance Braid. That combination played together for the first time last Sunday, a 3-2 win over the Hitmen, and it connected for the Cougars' first goal. Erricson is also on pace for his best WHL season and that's a product of hard work and the rewards that come with playing on the Cougars' top scoring line.
"I just came into this year with a different kind of mindset to my game, more just having fun and letting things come to me rather than forcing things and it seems to be working," said Erricson. "The net seems a lot bigger right now and I'll just going to try to keep the goals coming as much as I can. I like to be one of the energy guys. Our coach emphasizes going to the paint and the crease area to get those dirty goals. I've gotten a few that way and it helps playing with linemates who can skate as well."
Erricson said he's looking forward to playing with 20-year-old goalie Jared Rathjen, picked up on waivers by the Cougars on Thursday. Erricson has known Rathjen since they were nine-year-olds playing minor hockey together in Prince George.
"It's great to hear Jared will be coming with the team," said Erricson. "I know it's a bit harder for the goalies we have taking it in, knowing we have three goalies, but Jared is a veteran goalie who really knows what he's doing and he's really solid on his feet."
LOOSE PUCKS: On Friday, the Prince Albert Raiders fired head coach Cory Clouston. Associate coach Dave Manson took over as interim head coach for the Raiders' game Friday in Moose Jaw. Clouston was in the second season of a two-year contract... The Buffalo Sabres have returned F Sam Reinhart to the Kootenay Ice. In nine games this season with the Sabres, Reinhart registered one assists while averaging 10:21 of playing time per game. The second-overall pick in the 2014 NHL draft was fifth in WHL scoring last season with 105 points in 60 games... Cougars D Josh Anderson opens play at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Sarnia, Ont., playing for Team Canada White on Sunday afternoon against Finland.
