As much as they'd like to, the Prince George Cougars know they can't win three games in one night.
Just one more would be a good start.
Another loss to the Victoria Royals tonight in Game 5 of their WHL Western Conference quarterfinal series in Victoria will officially put an end to the Cougars' season.
The Cougars looked out of sync and overwhelmed at times in their 3-0 loss to the Royals Thursday in Game 4 at CN Centre. As much as they tried, they seemed a half-step behind their Victoria opponents and paid a steep price, falling behind three games to one on the best-of-seven series.
"I think, defensively, we didn't compete as hard, we were pretty low-energy, just not the same as the past few nights," said 18-year-old Cougars defenceman Tate Olson.
"The puck wasn't going our way and they capitalized on their opportunities."
The Royals are known as a big, hard-hitting team that's not afraid of the rough stuff and they used that to their advantage Thursday, talking advantage of a Cougars team with very little WHL playoff experience.
"The games in Victoria were a lot like Game 3 here (a 4-2 Cougars' win) and Game 4 was a little slower -- they came ready and they were pretty intense," said Olson.
"It's a pretty big learning curve for us and everyone's realized how long the series is and how tired guys get. They're always ready to hit us and it takes a toll every night. They have a couple big guys up front who like to play the body and you feel more tired and sore. If we just stick to the systems and remember what got us here and what brought us success, we'll be OK."
Playing with defence partner Joseph Carvalho, Olson scored three goals in the first two games of the series, all on the power play, and is tied for the team goal scoring lead with Chase Witala. A key for the Cougars is to get their special teams working again. After scoring six power-play goals in 14 chances the first three games of the series they went 0-for-8 on the power play in Thursday's game, gave up one shorthanded goal, and allowed the Royals to score once in three PP opportunities.
The Cougars were only down by a goal heading into the third period Thursday and started it on the power play but that turned into a nightmare when the puck took a funny hop off the boards and got past Zach Pochiro, right on to the stick of Brandon Magee -- the guy Cougar fans least wanted to see breaking into the Cat's zone on a 2-on-1 shorthanded break. Magee made the most of his chance, dishing to Regan Nagy for a backbreaking goal that put Victoria ahead 2-0.
Playing on a line with Austin Carroll and Alex Forsberg, the five-foot-eight, 185-pound Magee picked up two assists Thursday and he leads the Royals in playoff scoring with five goals and three assists in four games. Magee has made a career out of producing points at the expense of the Cougars. In 40 games over four WHL seasons, including this year's playoffs, the 21-year-old centre has 22 goals and 52 points against the Cougars.
"I guess things just kind of click when I'm playing P.G. (Game 3) wasn't my best game but I wanted to make sure I bounced back," said Magee. "P.G.'s been playing a really tough style of game and making it hard on me and our whole line to get to the net and play with the puck and I don't think that will let up in the series.
"Hopefully we continue with what we've been doing. Prince George is playing incredibly good hockey and it's going to be a tough series right to the end. They're not going to go away."
Royals head coach Dave Lowry was relieved to see a tight-checking, defensive battle after seeing the two teams play three games of wide-open, river-style hockey to start the series. The Royals are one of the top defensive teams in the WHL, but to be successful Lowry says they have limit the shots and scoring chances and outwork their opponents like they did Thursday.
"For the first three games we traded chances and I don't think that plays into our hands," said Lowry. "We worked tonight, and when we manage the game and play the right way we give ourselves a chance to win. We got away from it the first two game in our building and we were fortunate to be up two games. It was evident in Game 3 when we continued to play the same way and it wasn't working.
"The Cougars are a good team. Their record isn't indicative of how good their team is. The only difference is they had a (12-game) losing streak. Up until then, both teams were right neck and neck. This is going to be a long series."
Cougars head coach Mark Holick liked the way the Cats started in the first period in Game 4, outshooting and outchancing the Royals, but had nothing to show for it. He knows the teams are evenly-matched and he's expecting a much better effort on the road tonight. A win will send the series back to Prince George for Game 6 at CN Centre Monday night.
"They did a good job of slowing things down in the neutral zone and when they do that you've got to counter by getting pucks in behind their D, and we didn't do that," said Holick. "We didn't cash in and (goalie Coleman) Vollrath was there when we had our chances. Our power play, as good as it's been, let us down. We went 0-for-8, we need to score on those power plays. Our best guys were just OK, they weren't great. We need more out of our top six forwards than we got (Thursday)."
Holick says it would not be wise to count the Cougars out just yet.
"We'll go there and if we can force a Game 6 and bring it back here and put 5,500 people in the building, all of a sudden you could be looking at Game 7," said Holick. "But we've got to get back to playing foundation hockey. We got away from our structure. We must have set a record for turning pucks over, we were very much individuals in the neutral zone and we've got to be a lot better than that."
If Game 7 is required, it would be played Wednesday in Victoria.
