The push for the playoffs continues.
The Prince George Cougars will take on the Red Deer Rebels tonight at CN Centre and will look to build on a weekend where they took three out of a possible four points from the Victoria Royals. Heading into tonight's game (7 p.m. faceoff), the Cats are one spot out of the playoffs in the Western Hockey League's Western Conference. They are chasing the eighth-place Seattle Thunderbirds, who held a four-point advantage on them prior to a Tuesday night road game against the Royals.
The Cougars (16-30-2-5) last saw the Rebels Jan. 19 in Red Deer and skated to a 3-1 win. The Cats have gone 3-6-0-1 in their past 10 outings, while the Rebels have posted a 4-4-2 mark. Red Deer is currently fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 27-21-4-2 record.
Offensively, the Cats are being led by forwards Colin Jacobs and Troy Bourke. Each player has 36 points, Jacobs on 18 goals and an equal number of assists in 47 games, and Bourke on eight goals and 28 helpers in 44 contests. The hottest Cat of late has been local 17-year-old forward Chase Witala, who has scored six goals in his past four games. In 42 games this season, Witala has 14 goals and 31 points, good for third on the team list.
Red Deer's top point-producer is Turner Elson, a prospect of the Calgary Flames. In 47 games, the 20-year-old Elson has 18 goals and 40 points.
The Cougars and Rebels will also meet next Wednesday in Red Deer.
Tonight's game is the third of a five-game homestand for the Cougars. On Friday and Saturday, they'll host the Vancouver Giants.
n Witala's six goals last week weren't enough to earn him the WHL player of the week award. Instead, the honour went to Kamloops Blazers forward Colin Smith, who piled up 10 points (four goals, six assists) in four games. Smith, a 19-year-old from Edmonton, has now been player of the week three times this season.
In 55 games, Smith has 36 goals and 86 points, numbers that have him third in the league scoring race behind Nicolas Petan (36-57-93) and Brendan Leipsic (36-54-90) of the Portland Winterhawks.
