If there was a statistical category for disallowed goals in the WHL, chances are Prince George Cougars centre Brogan O'Brien would be leading the league.
In the season-opener against Everett, O'Brien beat goalie Carter Hart with the puck cleanly but did it soccer-style off the toe of his skate. The goal was waved off and the Cougars went on to lose 2-0.
Last Friday in a 5-2 loss to Tri-City O'Brien jammed the net and celebrated like he'd gotten the puck past Evan Sarthou, but after a video review the officials ruled the puck did not cross the line.
In the rematch against the Americans last Saturday, O'Brien finally got himself a keeper. With Sarthou on the bench to allow an extra skater, the Americans coughed up the puck to O'Brien well behind the far blueline and with the path clear to the empty net 170 feet away he whipped a low shot which found the target to cap a 4-1 Cougars' win.
"It was nice to get the first one out of the way finally, after the first two were disallowed," said the 18-year-old O'Brien, who's not sure what happened to the puck which counts for his first WHL career goal.
Lately, O'Brien has been getting lots of chances to fill the net while centering the Cats' second line with talented wingers Jared Bethune and Jesse Gabrielle.
"We have a lot of good forwards and a lot of depth so it doesn't matter who you're out with, every game you're playing with somebody talented and that helps out," said O'Brien. "It's exciting playing at home every night with my family and friends there. I think I'm adjusting every game and by the end of the year I'll be really starting to get my pace out there. It definitely helped to play junior A and get some icetime there."
O'Brien is a born-and-bred Prince George guy who played the past two seasons in the BCHL for the Spruce Kings. At six-foot-two, 190 pounds, he's built for the punishment of regular duty in the WHL and he adds to the considerable depth the Cougars have in the forward ranks.
"He's another big-bodied guy with good hands and we're working with Brogan to play like a big body," said Cougars head coach Mark Holick. "It's a different league, he's got to get used to it and be a little more physical, but he's a great skater and another one who came to camp in great condition. He sees the ice well and does a lot of good things. He's a real good face-off guy and he's intelligent. He's off to a pretty decent start for us and he's a guy I think we can count on down the stretch."
The Cougars acquired the rights to O'Brien last year at the trade deadline from the Kelowna Rockets for 20-year-old winger Chance Braid. The Rockets, who play the Cats at CN Centre tonight and Saturday, picked O'Brien in the 10th round in the 2012 bantam draft and he attended their training camp that year as a 15-year-old.
Coming off a 5-4 win at home Wednesday against Red Deer, the Rockets (6-3-0-0) rank second in the Western Conference behind Victoria. Kelowna is eight points ahead of the Cougars (2-3-0-0), who have played four fewer games.
The Rockets came within a goal of winning the Memorial Cup last season. They've returned from that team 13 forwards, four defencemen and starting goalie Jackson Whistle, and so far it's business as usual.
"We just have to play our game and stick to the details and I think we should have no problem this weekend," said O'Brien.
Of the Cougars' next nine games, four are against Kelowna.
"You have to respect the fact they're the defending champions," said Holick. "They have a lot of guys back from that team, they play the game hard and play it the right way - nothing really fazes them. They're going to be again counted on to be at the top of the heap so we're going to have our hands full."
LOOSE PUCKS: Rockets 17-year-old centre Dillon Dube scored two goals and added an assist in the win over Red Deer. Touted as a potential first-rounder for 2016 by NHL Central Scouting, Dube now has four goals and nine points in seven games... This is Brad Ralph's first trip to Prince George as head coach of the Rockets. He replaced Dan Lambert as Rockets head coach when Lambert took an assistant's job with the Buffalo Sabres. Ralph coached the Idaho Steelheads last year and was an ECHL coach-of-the-year nominee... The Cougars will be without C Jordan Ross (lower-body injury), RW Kody McDonald (illness, day-to-day) and D Max Martin (shoulder surgery, indefinite). F Rourke Chartier (upper-body, week-to-week) and D Jonathan Smart (upper-body, week-to-week) are the sidelined Rockets... Holick said Ty Edmonds will get the nod in goal tonight.
