Having quenched their thirst after an extended drought, the Prince George Cougars are feeling rather parched again.
They want the winning to continue against the Kelowna Rockets and will get their chance to take another victory sip tonight in their home opener, the start of a two-game set at CN Centre.
Wednesday night at Prospera Centre, the home of the Rockets, the Cats skated off with a 4-2 triumph, their first win on Kelowna ice since Nov. 15, 2016. Considering the success of the Rockets the past couple decades as one of the powerhouse teams of the Western Hockey League, any time and any place the Cougars can beat them, that's something worth celebrating.
Wednesday's game, the first of nine between the Cougars and Rockets this season, was a battle of two winless teams. The Cougars were coming off a pair of losses last weekend in Victoria (2-1 in a shootout Friday and 5-1 Saturday), while the Rockets dropped both games of a home-and-home series against the Kamloops Blazers (3-1 in Kamloops and 4-1 in Kelowna).
"The guys played well - from the drop of the puck it was like we were a different hockey team and it was very similar to our first game in Victoria," said Cougars head coach Richard Matvichuk. "We were aggressive and doing the right things and we weren't turning the puck over in the bad areas.
"We have a saying: 'we like to be second first, all over the ice. So the faster we can get our second guy in there and get an outnumbered situation, the better it's going to be."
Vladislav Mikhalchuk, the Cougars' 19-year-old right winger from Minsk, Belarus, flung the winning dagger from the face-off circle with just 3:33 left, a wrist shot that dipped just enough to fool goalie James Porter. That was the Cougars' answer after Leif Mattson had tied it exactly a minute earlier. Ilijah Colina's empty-net backhander ended the suspense when he put the puck in off the post.
Mikhalchuk, the game's first star, set up the first P.G. goal on a two-man advantage in the first period, a one-timed goalmouth connection from waiting defenceman Ryan Schoettler. Mikhalchuk forms a forward trio with left winger Jackson Leppard and centre Ethan Browne.
"(Mikhalchuk) came back with a very strong performance and when he does let that thing fly it's obviously a pretty good shot and a prime example was the game-winner (Wednesday)," said Matvichuk. "That line has a bit of everything. Leppard has the grit and his offensive talent and Browne, with the way he sees the ice and the way he's able to make plays, and Vlad, he's a shooter with a physical element as well."
Taylor Gauthier drew his third consecutive start in net for the Cougars and looked sharp while stopping 27 of 29 shots.
Special teams weighed heavily in Wednesday's decision. The Cougars went 1-for-4 on the power play and held the Rockets without a goal despite seven manpower advantages. In Saturday's game the Cougars allowed two shorthanded goals and three came on Victoria power plays.
"Obviously we want to be aggressive and we want to play hard every night but we have to play within the rules," said Matvichuk. "That's something we addressed after the game and something we'll address again (Saturday) morning. Discipline is a huge part.
"You have to find ways to stay out of the penalty box. If it's looking the guy in the eyes when you're hitting him or knowing the new rules now... you can't hit from outside of that 90-degree zone. It's a learning curve for the guys who haven't played in the league before and we have to do a better job of being physical in the right areas."
Former Seattle Thunderbird Mike MacLean, a six-foot-seven, 234-pound Penticton native, scored his first goal as a Cougar, which gave them the lead 11 minutes into the third period. MacLean is grouped with Josh Maser and Connor Bowie on what rates as one of the beefiest lines in the WHL.
"It's a line that should be very successful if they play the north-south game the way they should because they're all very reliable defensively and the way that they can skate and their physical element can be very beneficial to us," said Matvichuk.
The Rockets still have talented playmakers in Mattson, Kyle Topping, Connor Brugggen-Cate and Nolan Foote but are missing the offensive firepower of NHL draft picks Cole Lind (Vancouver), Dillon Dube (Calgary) and Cal Foote (Tampa Bay), all of whom have one year of junior eligibility left. Through three games the Rockets have scored just four goals, two fewer than the Cougars, and it's unlikely the defending B.C. Division champions will get any of their three pro prospects back.
The Cougars are now in their 25th season since the franchise shifted from Victoria and throughout tonight's game the team will announce its all-time list of the top 25 Dream Team players. The first 20 were selected by the media and team officials and five were picked by fans in an online Citizen poll.
A tailgate party outside CN Centre starts at 4:30 today with food available from White Goose Bistro and Frozen Paddle and music from DJ Ant. The Cougar players will be there to greet the fans starting at 4:45 p.m., arriving in antique cars supplied by the Cruisin' Classics and Overdrive car clubs.
The opening face-off tonight is set for 7, with the same game time on Saturday.
