No points were at stake, so the Prince George Cougars can take solace in the fact it didn't really matter they lost 4-1 to the Edmonton Oil Kings in a preseason test Friday at CN Centre.
Sure, they would have liked to win, but at this stage of the season the outcome was overshadowed by what both teams learned about their players.
From a Cougars' perspective, a few things came to light.
For those uncertain about their most important acquisition over the summer, goalie Drew Owsley made the most of his one-and-a-half periods of game action, offering plenty of glimpses he is indeed the real deal.
Then there was Cats centre Jake Mykitiuk, all of five-foot-five, 139 pounds. The 16-year-old from St. Albert., Alta., might not be the second coming of Theo Fleury but he's sure fun to watch. Like the most of the Cougars, Mykitiuk was held off the scoreboard, but showed great speed on a line with Wilson Dumais and Tayler Thompson, and wasn't afraid to get involved as a bouncer trying to clear the crease in his own end.
Neither Alex Forsberg of the Cougars or Curtis Lazar of the Oil Kings, the first and second respective picks in the 2009 bantam draft could generate any points in their first head-to-head match up at the WHL level, but Forsberg came awfully close, nailing the goalpost at the start of the second period.
Stephane Legault led the way for Edmonton with two goals, including an empty-netter, and veteran Jon Groenheyde was solid all game, making 32 saves to cage the Cougars.
The Oil Kings took the lead in the second period with a pair of goals 93 seconds apart. Mark Reners picked up a rebound and pulled the puck across the crease to find the open side of the net behind Owsley. The 20-year-old from Lethbridge had no chance on the second goal, a shot that deflected over his shoulder into the net off the stick of Legault.
In his first game action for the Cougars since arriving in a trade from Tri-City, Owsley lived up to his billing. His razor reflexes and flexible legs were equal to the challenges thrown at him by the Oil Kings, and he picked their pockets cleanly on at least five dangerous occasions. He left the game game midway through the second period after stopping Cole Benson on a breakaway and had to feel good about his performance, making 20 saves on 22 shots.
Devon Fordyce, a 17-year-old rookie battling Tyler Santos for the Cougars' backup goalie position, came in to replace Owsley and made one great stop in the second period to thwart Benson on a breakaway, but gave up a softy to T.J. Foster late in the period, a lazy backhander that trickled through his legs, giving the Oil Kings a 3-1 lead. The Oil Kings kept him busy, firing 17 shots his way.
Rookie defenceman Linden Springer's rocket from the top of the face-off circle on a Prince George power in the first period was the only scoring the Cats could muster.
KITTY LITTER: A minute of silence was observed before the game in tribute to the members of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team who died in a plane crash that killed 43 people on Wednesday in Yaroslavl, Russia... Only a few hundred spectators showed up to watch on a warm summer evening. The same teams meet again tonight in Jasper... The Cougars have signed 17-year-old defenceman Michael Mylchreest, an import from Gilroy, Calif. Mylchreest played a regular shift on the blueline Friday, paired with Springer.
