As if the Prince George Cougars' travel schedule wasn't bad enough, they've had weather woes to deal with as well.
The Cougars' bus was supposed to leave Prince George for Washington state Wednesday evening but the huge storm that dumped 26 centimetres of snow on the city kept them grounded for the night. The team gathered again at CN Centre at 7 a.m. Thursday, only to learn their bus had mechanical problems. They didn't leave the rink until about 3:30 p.m.
The trip to Kennewick, Wash., home of the Tri-City Americans, usually takes 14 hours in good weather and bad roads were expected to add another four hours to the trip.
"The life of a junior hockey player -- I suggested a flight but that got shot down," laughed Cougars head coach Mark Holick. "We're just debating whether we go halfway and stay overnight in Penticton and then cross the border early. At least then, if we do that, you're not sleeping on the bus, but we'll make that decision as we go."
Holick figured if the team kept driving without an overnight stop, they wouldn't reach their destination until about 7 a.m. Friday. The big dump also postponed the Cougars family skate with the players Wednesday night, which will be rescheduled.
The Cougars and Americans split the two-game series at CN Centre last weekend. The Americans won 4-3 in overtime Friday and the Cougars took Saturday's game 5-2. The Cats also defeated the Ams 2-1 in Kennewick on Sept. 22.
In their last home game of 2013 the Cougars lost 3-1 Tuesday to the Kootenay Ice. They outshot the Ice 52-32 but ran into a hot goalie -- New York Rangers prospect Mackenzie Skapski.
"Skapski played well, I thought we outchanced them and played well enough to win and unfortunately when you only score one goal you don't win many games," said Holick.
The Cats will be in Spokane on Saturday to take on the Don Nachbaur-coached Chiefs, then head into the Christmas break following their game Sunday in Vancouver.
Not available to the Cougars due to injuries are forwards Jari Erricson (concussion), Brett Roulston (foot), David Soltes (knee), defenceman Raymond Grewal (ankle) and goalie Brett Zarowny (groin). While Roulston and Zarowny left on the bus, they won't play this weekend and are with the team just so they can make flight connections to go home for Christmas on Monday. Soltes has returned to his home in Kosice, Slovakia, recovering from knee surgery. Erricson and Grewal will be staying close to their Prince George homes for the holidays.
