The Prince George Cougars are in a snarly mood.
That's to be expected after losing on home ice Wednesday to the Medicine Hat Tigers.
By their own admission, the Cougars got what they deserved with their inconsistent effort in what turned out a 6-4 loss to the WHL Central Division leaders. The Tigers won the special teams battle, scoring twice on the power play and once while shorthanded and that proved a huge factor in determining the outcome.
The Cougars scored one shorthanded goal and went 1-for-2 on the power play. The fact they didn't many chances with the extra skater was a sign for Cougars captain Sam Ruopp his team wasn't forcing their opponents enough, one aspect of their game the Cougars hope to rectify when they take on the Kamloops Blazers tonight (7 p.m. start, CN Centre).
As good as the Cougars' 13-3-2-0 record is (they still lead the WHL overall standings), home ice wins have become a rarity the past month. They started well in October, sweeping the Vancouver Giants to improve to 4-0 at CN Centre, but since then have won just one of their last five games in their own rink. That includes back-to-back setbacks to Everett, an overtime loss to Swift Current, followed by a one-goal win over Saskatoon and Wednesday's loss to the Tigers.
Considering the Cougars still own the WHL's best road record (8-0-1-0) there's certainly no need to panic. They played well in spurts in Wednesday's game and probably deserved more than one goal in the second period when they dominated the Tigers, outshooting them 19-11 and outchancing them by a wide margin. But they still trailed 3-2 after 40 minutes.
The Tigers and their lethal power play (they've scored on 35.4 per cent of their chances) connected midway through the second period to make it a 3-1 game. Zach Fischer's goal came seconds after Cougar forward Kody McDonald overskated the puck at the blueline, just missing what looked like a clearcut breakaway.
"They definitely capitalized on their chances and it was just them getting shots on net
and we need to do a better job in the scoring department," said Ruopp, who collected his second goal of the season Wednesday. "It mainly comes down to work ethic, getting guys in front of the net and getting in front of the goalie's eye, just simple stuff we got away from (Wednesday), definitely a tough pill to swallow.
"It's frustrating for some players, especially our best ones, they have to be the scorers and everyone has to play their role. It's a little adversity here but everyone goes through it and we just have to bounce back and find a way to win."
After a bit of a slow start, the Blazers have won five of their last seven games and are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss at Home Wednesday to Lethbridge. The Blazers and Tigers played Friday in Kamloops, while the Cougars had the night off. Heading into Friday's game the Blazers were third in the B.C. Division with a 9-8-1-0 record, nine points behind the Cougars. This is the first eight meetings this season between the teams.
"(Blazers head coach) Don Hay always has a hardworking team there so we know what to expect," said Ruopp. "But I think if we just stick to our systems an trust each other we'll get the 'W.'"
On the injury front, Cougars left winger Colby McAuley (separated shoulder) won't play tonight. He got hurt sliding into the boards last weekend in Calgary and could be gone for a few weeks. Kamloops G Carter Phair was listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
One Cougar and two Blazers won't be available to their teams tonight while they're in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. Cougars F Jackson Leppard and Blazers F Jackson Shepard are with Canada White, while Kamloops D Luke Zazula was with Canada Black.
Tickets are still available for the Game 1 of the CIBC Canada-Russia Series. The WHL team, featuring Cougars C Jansen Harkins and RW Brad Morrison, will take on the Russian junior all-stars Monday at 7 p.m. at CN Centre, the first of two games involving the WHL selects. The second game in the series is set for Edmonton on Tuesday.
Four WHL players - D Artem Minulin (Swift Current Broncos), LW Nikita Popugaev (Moose Jaw Warriors), D Dmitry Zaitsev (Moose Jaw) and D Sergey Zborovskiy (Regina Pats) - are on the 23-player Team Russia roster announced Wednesday.
F German Rubtsov,who plays for HC Vityaz of the Kontinental Hockey League, was the first-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers (22nd overall) in 2016. The team also includes F Pavel Karnaukhov, a Calgary Flames prospect, and G Konstantin Volkov, a Nashville Predators prospect.
