Josh Curtis has ditched his scoring slump and that might spell trouble for the Swift Current Broncos.
When he left town last week for a three-game tour of the WHL Central Division the 20-year-old captain of the Prince George Cougars had just one assist to show for his first seven games. Curtis snapped himself out of his slump, scoring his first goal of the season last Friday in a 4-1 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The following night in Lethbridge, he pumped in two more goals and an assist in a 6-5 shootout win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The Cougars wrapped up their trip Sunday in Cranbrook against the Kootenay Ice and Curtis set up linemate Ilijah Colina for the 2-1 winner, 33 seconds into overtime.
"It is really nice to contribute, we needed some offence," said Curtis. "We haven't scored a tremendous amount of goals (the Cats have just 22 goals through 10 games) so it was nice to finally produce and I thought our line (with left winger Vladislav Mikhalchuk) played pretty well."
All of a sudden, Curtis is on top of the team scoring chart with three goals and three assists for six points, tied with Mikhalchuk, Ethan Browne and Ryan Schoettler.
"It was a big two wins, with travel and playing in different buildings," said Curtis. "I thought we played a really good team game, especially in Lethbridge. It was a bit of a barn-burner but regardless, the biggest thing was when things weren't going our way in the third period when they scored and went ahead it was good we went right back down and scored. That was the attitude we had, to never give up."
The win in Lethbridge ended a four-game losing streak. The Cougars (4-5-0-1) are solidly entrenched in third place in the B.C. Division, four points ahead of the fourth-place Kamloops Blazers, with a chance to make it three wins in a row Sunday afternoon when they host the Broncos (2 p.m. start).
"It's big for everyone," said Curtis. "You obviously want to build that idea that you can win on the road and win on any night. It's good to know we're finding ways to win both games."
Both Cougar goalies played well. Isaiah DiLaura, in his second start of the season, made 49 saves to preserve the win in Lethbridge and Taylor Gauthier was sharp against the Ice, blocking 45 shots.
The Broncos (1-9-0-0) are the defending WHL champions but their roster has been decimated by graduation and this is obviously a rebuilding year. They began their trip Tuesday in Langley with a 6-2 loss to the Vancouver Giants in which they were outshot 71-16. The Broncos played Wednesday night in Victoria and lost 5-2 to the Royals, outshot 35-12. Swift Current played Friday night in Kamloops.
The Cougars will try to improve their effectiveness on the power play at the Broncos' expense. The Cats still rank dead-last in the WHL with just three power-play goals in 42 opportunities, a 7.1 per cent success rate. Heading into Friday's game the Broncos were connecting with 13.9 per cent efficiency, 20th in the 22-team league.
The Cougars will have had almost a full week between games and with no injuries to deal with they should be well-rested to face the Broncos Sunday on Minor Sports Day at CN Centre. Curtis knows the Cougars are favoured to come out of it with two more points but he says the team won't be taking the Broncos lightly.
"It doesn't matter what team comes in, if you don't play the right way you're not going to win and we can't underestimate this team," said Curtis. "They did get outshot big-time (by the Giants) but that means they'll be fueled and ready to play Sunday and we'll have to have a good start."
