When the Prince George Cougars hit the ice Saturday they'll have a few extra furry friends barking up approval.
The Cougars (7-8-1-1) are not only welcoming the defending Western Hockey League champion Edmonton Oil Kings (11-5-1-2) to CN Centre for a pair of games this weekend but fans are encouraged to bring their dogs to witness the action Saturday night.
Cougars captain Brock Hirsche said the atmosphere with the dogs should be fun but likely won't intimidate their knowledgeable opponent.
"Oddly enough when I was in Edmonton, a couple years ago, it was dog night there," said Hirsche. "A dog tried to drop the puck but didn't want to do it and just kept the puck in its mouth, that was a little bit funny. You could definitely hear them barking which was kind of cool but I don't know if it affects the players a whole bunch but it'll be a cool atmosphere for the fans for sure."
Learning a lesson from the Oil Kings past experience, the Cougars won't be having a dog attempt a ceremonial puck drop. The Cats could learn another lesson from the WHL champs.
"We'll see what we're made of character-wise," said Hirsche. "Everyone's going to have to be going. We need 20 guys playing their best game and we can win. It'll be a great challenge for us and we're going to accept the challenge."
Both the Cougars and Oil Kings enter the weekend doubleheader after suffering losses in Kelowna to the Rockets (11-6-1-1) - Prince George was shutout 5-0 last Saturday and Edmonton fell 3-2 on Wednesday. The Rockets are 7-2-0-1 in their last 10 games.
The Cougars will be looking for a better effort from their forwards then they received in Saturday's loss. In the 5-0 loss the Cougars only fired 21 shots at Rockets goalie Jackson Whistle and failed to generate any offensive output during a two-man advantage in the third period.
Hirsche said there's a simple solution to correct what ailed the Cougars in Kelowna.
"It doesn't matter what team you're playing in this league, the best team or the worst team, if you don't bring a good work ethic you're not going to win," said the 20-year-old. "I just told the guys if we want to win a game you've got to battle hard for 60 minutes. We're going to give a lot better effort next game for sure."
Cougars head coach Dean Clark said after playing a solid game in Kamloops the night before and leaving with a single point in a 2-1 shootout loss to the top team in Canada, perhaps some of the Cats' players saw the Rockets as an inferior team.
"We probably didn't respect our opponent enough," said Clark. "If you've got opponents that are below you in the standings you've got to try and keep them there."
The Rockets aren't below the Cougars in the B.C. division but the Vancouver Giants (5-12) are. After their Saturday game with the Oil Kings the Cougars will hop a bus for a nine-hour trip to the Lower Mainland where they'll face a rested Giants squad Sunday, 4 p.m.
It's a quirk in the schedule but both Clark and Hirsche pointed out the Cougars will need to be ready.
"It's not going to be easy but we can't use it as an excuse," said Hirsche. "We've got to try and get as much sleep as we can, do the proper things to get our rest and try to be ready for the game on Sunday."
Puck drops for tonight and Saturday's games at 7 p.m.
Cats' keepers
Expect to see 17-year-old Brett Zarowny in the Cougars' net sometime this weekend. The rookie hasn't had much action in the crease in recent games but, Clark said that'll change this weekend.
"I needed to get a good week in for Mac [Engel] just because he hadn't played for a stretch," said Clark, referring to when Engel was home in Red Deer waiting for the Spokane Chiefs to trade him. "Brett is more than capable and he's had some success. We'll certainly see him this weekend."
In 10 appearances this season Zarowny has a 5-3 record with a shutout and an .893 save percentage. The rookie was 8-for-8 in relief in Saturday's 5-0 loss.
Engel played well in the Saturday loss, making several key saves in the second period when the Cougars were still mathematically in the game.
"I just said, don't worry about it you didn't get a lot of support," said Clark about what he told his goalie on the bench. "I just wanted to get him out of there, give him a little bit of rest and give Brett a little bit of time."
Mykitiuk out
Jake Mykitiuk will be out of the Cougars' lineup indefinitely after being diagnosed with mononucleosis this week. The 16-year-old was a healthy scratch in the Cougars last four games.
Cougars Movember leaders
The Cougars lead all Canadian Hockey League clubs in fundraising for Movember having raised $3,525 and sitting second among CHL groups behind Mofficials, who have raised $19,847. Cougars rookie Brett Roulston has raised $815 himself, ninth on individual fundraisers.
