In case the Prince George Cougars didn't get enough of the Kelowna Rockets last week, they'll renew old ties again tonight in Kelowna.
For the Cougars, the key to success will be trying to find a way to pressure the Rockets' defencemen. They killed the Cats last weekend with their flypaper coverage, smooth puck-handling, slick skating skills, and intuitive knack for jumping into the play.
While the Cougars did salvage a point in the two-game series at CN Centre with an impressive four-goal comeback that ended in a 7-6 shootout loss Friday and kept pace with the Rockets for two periods in the rematch before losing 4-1, the difference between the two teams was the Rockets' superior crew on the blueline.
"I think the strength of their team is their defence," said Cougars head coach Mark Holick. "You can see why Madison Bowey is their captain. He's their best player and when he's going, their team is going. He skates really well and [Damon] Severson's a force back there. [Colten] Martin played really well and [Mitchell] Wheaton's a big body who plays it tough.
"They're a lot further along than we are in their development and they play the right way. We're not there yet. We're hoping we can get there next year or even in the second half of the season when we can take that next step. You build your team from your goaltender on out and if we can find a way to keep developing our guys, we'll be fine."
The Cougars' power play ranks last in the WHL and Prospera Centre in Kelowna is not a very inviting place for opposing teams to score with the man advantage. The Rockets (12-2-0-2) have only allowed two power play goals in 43 opportunities in nine games at home. The one saving grace for the Cats is they score more often on the power play on the road (17.1 per cent of the time) than than they do at home (9.3 per cent).
They also have a new wrinkle to throw at the Rockets -- newly acquired left winger Todd Fiddler. The 20-year-old Fiddler, a 42-goal man last year for Spokane, joined the Cougars this week in a trade with Moose Jaw for a conditional fifth-round bantam pick in 2015. Fiddler was practising this week on a line with centre Alex Forsberg and right winger Troy Bourke.
Another plus for the Cats heading into the weekend is the on-ice renewal of goalie Brett Zarowny, who played two of his best games this season after coming in to relieve Ty Edmonds five minutes into Friday's game.
The Cougars (7-9-1-3) will play Saturday night in Vancouver, Sunday night in Kamloops, then return to Prince George to prepare to face the Medicine Hat Tigers Tuesday night at CN Centre. The Tigers (11-3-3-0), who host Prince Albert tonight, are the top team in the Eastern Conference. Eight of the Cougars' next nine games are on the road.
"That's sometimes a good thing to get on the road, be together and get away from some distractions here," said Holick. "We have an opportunity to make amends with Kelowna, hopefully, and Vancouver and Kamloops are both rolling along here too so it should be a fun weekend."
F Jari Erricson (shoulder injury) remains out of the Cougars' lineup.
