It's do-or-die for the Prince George Cougars' playoff chances in a pivotal doubleheader with the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds.
The Cougars (20-43-0-2) continue to occupy the basement of the Western Hockey League and trail the Everett Silvertips (19-37-1-8) by five points for the eighth, and final, playoff spot in the Western Conference. If the Cats are unable to pull off a pair of regulation wins over the T-birds (21-41-1-1) their slim playoff chances - the Cougars need to win games but also need help - will get dicer as they head off on a four-game road trip before concluding the season at home March 17 versus the Kamloops Blazers.
Troy Bourke leads the Cougars in scoring with 48 points.
"These will be our two biggest games of the year," said the 17-year-old sophomore. "If we get four points it'll keep us right in the race for that playoff spot. I think if we come out with the same energy we did [in Saturday's 4-3 overtime win against the Spokane Chiefs) we can get a few wins."
The win snapped a seven-game losing skid for the Cougars and was the first win of an eight-game home stand which concludes tonight and Wednesday at CN Centre.
Both the Silvertips and Cougars have seven games left in the regular season while the T-birds have eight. After the midweek games with Seattle the Cougars play in Kelowna on Saturday and then have a doubleheader in Tri-City on Sunday and Tuesday, March 13, before wrapping up the season with a home and home against the Blazers - Friday, March 16 in Kamloops and in Prince George on St. Patrick's Day.
After the two games with the Cougars, Seattle heads home where they'll finish the season with four home games against the - Portland Winterhawks, Silvertips and Chiefs. The T-birds also play at Spokane and Portland. Meanwhile, the Silvertips' host the Victoria Royals (21-39-2-4) on Wednesday and Portland on Friday. After a game in Seattle on Sunday, Everett is off until playing at Tri-City on March 16 and hosting the T-birds on March 17.
The final game on the WHL regular season schedule is Seattle at Portland on Sunday, March 18.
Cougars' head coach Dean Clark said the gritty effort the team gave in clawing out the overtime win against the Chiefs was an important first step to the task facing the team in the final two weeks of the season.
"I'm glad we won the way we did," said Clark. "We needed to get some confidence and get a little bit of a spark and there's no better way of getting that then by having a nice win at home in overtime.
"We've got to follow this up and get on a little bit of a roll - we'll probably need some help - but this is a start," added Clark.
With the Winterhawks (46-16-3-1), Americans (46-17-1-3) and Blazers (44-17-2-3) all vying for the top spot in the west the Cougars and their rivals will need to be at the top of their games when they meet the three top clubs.
After a disappointing performance in last Friday's 4-1 loss to the the Chiefs, Clark said it was a solid 60-minute performance from the whole team the next night - something he hopes will continue.
"I like the way we responded tonight," said Clark. "Hopefully we can continue to have that same kind of vibe and play full 60s instead of just parts of games."
The Cougars will still be without injured players: Dan Gibb (upper body), Daulton Siwak (sprained ankle), Shane Pilling (upper body), Brock Hirsche (shoulder) and John Odgers (arm). Hirsche's and Odgers's seasons are done after having surgeries.
But, Clark said, there's a chance rookie Alex Forsberg (lower body) may return to the lineup, thus boosting the Cats' scoring potential with his 12 goals and 31 points in 44 games.
"I'd say the closest one to coming back would be Alex, which would help us huge with his abilities," said Clark. "We'll know more Monday, but he could potentially be ready for Tuesday."
Game time tonight and Wednesday is 7 p.m.
