There was a time not so long ago when a visit by the Kelowna Rockets to CN Centre was like seeing the Grim Reaper arrive at the door.
They were the kiss of death, a breath of kryptonite for the Prince George Cougars.
But on Friday night at CN Centre the defending Western Hockey League champions had their hopes of continuing to feed off the gravy train dashed by Prince George Cougars goalie Ty Edmonds.
Edmonds was lights-out unbeatable Friday, making 35 saves in a 3-0 shutout of the Rockets.
CN Centre has been a holiday camp the past three seasons for the Rockets. They came to town having won 11 straight against the Cats in their own barn. How bad was it? The Rockets outscored them 27-9 in their four wins in Prince George last season.
But with Edmonds at his best, working with a three-goal lead, the Rockets were doomed, much to the delight of a partisan crowd of 2,407 in attendance.
In one flurry of activity with the Rockets on the power play 11 minutes into the third period, Edmonds pulled off four incredible saves. First he dove to rob Dillon Dube, then after an alert stop on a spinning Cole Linaker, Edmonds somehow shot across the crease to take away the rebound from Calvin Thurkauf. The 19-year-old goalie then pulled off another great save on Tyson Baillie before the penalty ended.
It was a sign of things to come as the Rockets continued to press. Edmonds made 15 saves in the final period, at least 10 of which looked difficult. He earned his second win of the season and now sports a sparking 1.53 goals-against average and .953 save percentage.
The Cougars got all their scoring from guys you might not expect to light the lamp.
Dutch-born-and-raised winger Bartek Bison struck first with his first WHL goal. The 17-year-old rookie took the puck from linemate Kody McDonald just inside the Kelowna blueline, took it to the opposite side face-off circle and picked the corner with high snapper in behind Jackson Whistle.
It was all Cougars in the second period and the Rockets had to consider themselves extremely fortunate they gave up just one more goal. They had four minor penalties to kill and most were of the undisciplined variety. With veteran centre Tyson Bailie off for hooking a Cougar well behind the play, the Cats finally cashed one in at the 12:45 mark.
Jared Bethune collected his first of the season with a bullet one-timer from the point served on a platter by Cougar defenceman Tate Olson. It was Olson's team-leading seventh point, all of which are assists. The Cougars held the Rockets to just one scoring chance in the second period.
Cougars captain Sam Ruopp added to the total early in the third period, teeing up a slap shot which had enough power to get through a pile of bodies in front of the net after it was partially blocked.
Shots were 41-35 in the Cougars' favour. The Cats went 1-for-7 on the power play while the Rockets were 0-for-2.
The win improved the Cougars' record to 3-3-0-0. Kelowna dropped to 6-4-0-0.
The puck drops at 7 p.m. for tonight's rematch.
LOOSE PUCKS: LW Colby McAuley played his best game of the season and earned third-star honours on a Cougar line with McDonald and Tyler Mrkonjic. McAuley was a physical presence all game and scored a decisive win in a first-period scrap with Rockets D Cal Foote (son of former NHL'er Adam)... Former Detroit Red Wings defenceman Jesse Wallin was at Friday's game scouting for the St. Louis Blues. Wallin served 4 seasons as head coach of the Red Deer Rebels and three years as an assistant with his former WHL team after his NHL career was cut short by a concussion in 2004. The 37-year-old Saskatoon native, who helped the Wings win the Stanley Cup in 2002, is in his third season with the Blues organization... Rockets first-year head coach Brad Ralph is celebrating his 35th birthday today... The Cougars play three of their next seven games against Kelowna.
