GAME PREVIEW: Cougars (8-20-1-3) at Everett Silvertips (24-6-2-0)
LAST GAME: The Prince George Cougars ended their pre-Christmas WHL schedule with a 3-0 win in Langley over the Vancouver Giants on December 17th. Taylor Gauthier stopped all 32 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season and the fourth in his WHL career. All three of the Cougars goals came on the power-play. Rhett Rhinehart scored in the second period for Prince George and Josh Maser added two power-play markers in the third period. December 17thmarked the third time the Cougars have won consecutive games this season and for the first time since November 23rd. Both of the Cougars’ wins against the Giants have come at the Langley Events Centre.
TONIGHT: Tonight, is the Cougars 33rd game of the season and their first game since their Christmas break. The Cougars are looking to string together back-to-back road wins for the first time all season. Coming into tonight’s clash with the Everett Silvertips, the Cougars are 3-10-0-1 away from the CN Centre this season and 2-7-1-0 against the U.S. Division.
| PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS (8-20-1-2 20 PTS) | EVERETT SILVERTIPS (24-6-2-0 50 PTS) |
| 5th B.C. DIVISION | 10th WESTERN CONFERENCE | 4th B.C. DIVISION | 7th WESTERN CONFERENCE |
| HOME: 4-10-1-2 | AWAY: 3-10-0-1 | HOME: 13-4-1-0 | AWAY: 11-2-1-0 |
| POWER-PLAY 20/125 16% (19th) | POWER-PLAY 35/130 26.9% (2nd) |
| PENALTY-KILL 28/113 75.2% (19th) | PENALTY-KILL 21/120 82.5% (7th) |
| LAST 10 4-4-1-1 STREAK 2-0-0-0 | LAST 10 8-1-1-0 STREAK 7-0-1-0 |
SEASON SERIES: Tonight, is the first of four meetings between these two teams and the first encounter since February of last season. The Cougars fell 6-1 to the Silvertips in their last meeting on February 23rd, 2019 at the Angel of the Winds Arena. Ryan Schoettler scored the Cougars’ lone goal that night. Prince George hasn’t had much success in Everett, winning just two of their last 12 trips. In fact, the Cougars have lost four-straight games in Everett dating back to the 2017-2018 regular season. The Cougars last won at Angel of the Winds arena on December 30th, 2016 [4-3]. Since then, they’ve been outscored 19-5 in the four consecutive losses.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: 16-year-old Tyler Brennan makes his fifth start of the season and his first since December 8th. Brennan owns a 2-2 record, to go along with a 2.57 goals-against average a .906 save percentage. Each of his four starts have been very solid, giving the Cougars a chance to win in every game. Good test for him tonight going up against not only the top team in the Western Conference, but the third-ranked team in the Kia CHL Top-10 rankings.
Angel of the Winds Arena isn’t easy for road teams. The Silvertips have won 13 of 18 home games this season and have only dropped four in regulation.They always draw well, especially around the holiday season. The Silvertips like to feed off that home crowd energy and will be up to Brennan to not allow the fans to get into the game early. Keeping the Silvertips off the scoreboard early, not allowing them to use home ice momentum early will be crucial.
Bryce Kindopp leads the Silvertips in scoring with 41 points (24-17-41) in 32 games. The 20-year-old is 10th in the WHL scoring race but leads the entire league in goals with 24. Kindopp has 13 points over his last eight games and has scored in six of the last seven games. Kindopp and Cole Fonstad make up two-thirds of Everett’s top line and the two have been on a tear in the last month. The Cougars will need to find a way to try and neutralize the Silvertips’ dynamic duo.
LINE UP: The Cougars are without Vladislav Mikhalchuk and Ethan Browne tonight. Two key pieces to the top six. Mikhalchuk still is awaiting his U.S. travel visa but will meet the team in Victoria tomorrow. As mentioned, Tyler Brennan makes his fifth start.
Everett is missing their number one goaltender in Dustin Wolf (USA) and forward Martin Fasko-Rudas (Slovakia) Both are playing for their country at the 2020 World Junior Hockey Championship in the Czech Republic. Forwards Tyson Phare and Michael Gut are day-to-day with injuries.
MILESTONES: Tonight, Tyson Upper is playing in his 100th career regular season game in his WHL career. Brendan Boyle is seven games away from 100. Maser is 12 games away from 200.
COUGARS’ FOCUS: A good start. First game after the Christmas break and the first of three games in four days. Busy stretch ahead for the Cougars. Everett is a tough building for road teams. Things can snowball against visiting teams in a hurry. Prince George needs to find a way to come out of the first 20-minutes even or ahead. If the Cougars let the Silvertips establish momentum early, they can be in for a long night.
