A trio of tough games await the Prince George Cougars in Alberta this weekend.
The Cougars (13-24-2-4) begin their weekend tonight, 6 p.m. in Calgary with a game against the Hitmen (30-11-1-3), hoping to erase the memory of the last time the teams met back in October in Prince George when the Hitmen blanked a listless Cougars team 5-0.
Last season, the Cougars and Hitmen split their two-game season series with each club winning on home ice.
Cougars head coach Dean Clark said it'll be a challenge for his troops to play three strong Alberta clubs. But he's confident the Cougars will compete after showing their moxie against the top three teams in the Western Hockey League's western conference, the second place Kelowna Rockets (32-10-2-1) and first place Portland Winterhawks (37-5-1) while nabbing three of four points against the third place Kamloops Blazers (29-13-2-3), in the last couple of weeks.
"Hopefully we can take our learning [experience] playing against better teams and take it on the road and get some points on the road," said Clark.
The Cougars have dropped their last nine road games while the Hitmen saw a six-game win streak snapped last Saturday when they lost 4-3 to the Swift Current Broncos.
Saturday the Cougars are in Red Deer to play the eastern conference's fourth place Rebels (24-18-3-2) before wrapping up the road trip Sunday, 3 p.m., against the first place Edmonton Oil Kings (30-9-2-3). The Cougars dropped a pair of games to the Oil Kings at CN Centre in November, while the game with Red Deer is the first of three meetings between the clubs. The Rebels are in Prince George on Feb. 6 and the Cougars return to Red Deer on Feb. 13.
One thing the Cougars will have this weekend that they didn't have against the Rockets or Winterhawks is the ability to ice a full lineup. After playing several games with only 16 skaters, and a rotating backup goaltender due to Brett Zarowny being sick, the Cougars are relatively healthy. The only three players not on the road trip are defencemen Joseph Carvalho (knee, six to eight weeks, Jordan Harris (concussion) and forward Jari Erricson (concussion).
Tonight's game between the Cougars and Hitmen will be broadcast on Shaw (Cable 10) at 6 p.m.
