scamperdog
01-15-2007, 06:48 PM
www.princegeorgecitizen.com
Monday, January 15, 2007
It’s a two-skate day for Cougars
by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
In the interest of convincing Prince George Cougars players of the importance of getting back to the basics, the coaching staff is planning two sessions of basic training today.
“I don’t think they’ll just be the kind of icetime where they just get their legs loose,” understated head coach Drew Schoneck, still angry Sunday after his team was drubbed 6-0 in Kamloops on Saturday.
The Cougars will hit the ice at 7:45 a.m. at Kin 3. The team’s regular practice goes at 2:15 p.m. at CN Centre. A bag skate isn’t ideal when the Cats are playing host to Kelowna the next day, but it has come down to this.
The players, on a WHL roster, will be taken back to their peewee days.
“We’re going to skate twice (today) and we’re going to hit them with the simple stuff like calling for passes, shooting when we’re supposed to shoot and stopping on loose pucks,” said Schoneck.
“If that isn’t done, we’re going to have some skating time. That’s what we’re lacking is the simple-ness in our game. Our shift-by-shift intensity isn’t there, and it’s costing us. We do have to play Kelowna... but we have to work on our power play and work on being intense.
“It wasn’t a good weekend. We didn’t do what we wanted to do, or accomplish what we wanted to accomplish.”
Beyond bag-skates, Schoneck and general manager Dallas Thompson only have one other option.
“It becomes an icetime thing,” said Schoneck.
“The trade deadline has come and passed, they’re here and if they want to play, or play on the power play, then they have to start performing. It’s not a given right for so-and-so to go on the power play because of what he did last year. What have you done lately? If you work, you’ll get rewards, as an individual or a team. If they’re not going to work, they’re going to be sitting in the stands.”
The Cougars have been shut out in two straight games, including Friday’s 4-0 setback in Kelowna. Dating back to Wednesday’s shootout loss in Portland, the Cats haven’t scored in 148 minutes 11 seconds.
Prince George concluded a four-game road trip with one win — that on the first night away, in Chilliwack — and three points. The standings are an eyesore, with these over-touted Cougars seemingly acting comfortable in third place despite the fact the Rockets, a team in full rebuild mode, are four points back, and the expansion Bruins, made up of misfits and castoffs, not out of it, either. Chilliwack is eight points in arrears of the Cougars.
Second place is gone. Despite losing to Tri-City on Sunday, Kamloops has 26 points to work with and is putting all its energy on catching Vancouver for first.
Friday’s loss was hard to swallow because the Cougars didn’t bring a WHL-level work ethic. Saturday’s game started well for Prince George, but spiralled out of control in the latter minutes of the first period. Ray Macias, Ivan Rohac, Tyler Shattock and Juuso Puustinen scored in a five-minute span to give the Blazers a 4-0 lead, causing Schoneck to make a goaltending switch from Real Cyr to Scott Bowles.
Puustinen and Macias both scored on Bowles over the final 40 minutes to make the scoreboard hum. Blazers goaltender Dustin Butler, the WHL’s leader in wins and shutouts, made 18 saves for his seventh blank of the season, breaking the Kamloops franchise record formerly shared by Devan Dubnyk (he did it twice) and Corey Hirsch.
“For the first 14 minutes of the first period (Saturday), we did what we wanted — we hemmed them in and we were outshooting them 10-1 or 10-2 at that point,” said Schoneck.
The final shot count — 34-18 in favour of the Blazers. That means the Cougars were outshot 32-8 over the final 46 minutes, this fragile team deflated after a bad giveaway by a veteran defenceman led to Kamloops’s first goal.
“We had some quality chances early and didn’t bury them, then we decided to be too fancy again,” said Schoneck.
“We refuse to take the easy shot, when Kamloops shot it from everywhere, the goal line, the blueline, everywhere. We’re trying to thread it through three sticks and four legs to make a pretty play instead of getting it on net and going for a rebound. We probably turned down 15 shots each game. We had some guys overhandle the puck and it ended up in the back of our net, then before we knew it the score was 4-0. We were all like, what just happened there? They get the first goal, (Ty Wishart) mishandled the puck on that one, and the second one was a backbreaker. Then all hell broke loose.
“We’re beating ourself right now.”
There is help on the way — though the returnees will have to take their efforts to a higher level than have been on display most of the year. Veterans Vladimir Mihalik, Jesse Dudas and Devin Setoguchi are all expected to be back for Tuesday. Mihalik’s oversized equipment was lost in airline luggage, so he didn’t play on the weekend; Setoguchi’s annoying knee is ready for a game test; and Dudas, who won’t be in peak cardio condition, is recovered sufficiently from a knee tweak. None of those three played on the weekend.
“I see a light at the end of the tunnel, but we need some of our older guys, our leaders, to step it up,” said Schoneck.
“We have too good of a team to not have a light, and our guys have pride and they know we let the weekend slip. Some guys are feeling snake-bit, getting opportunities and not scoring. But when that starts happening it’s back to basics to get confidence. It takes work, it’s not going to come easy.”
Monday, January 15, 2007
It’s a two-skate day for Cougars
by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
In the interest of convincing Prince George Cougars players of the importance of getting back to the basics, the coaching staff is planning two sessions of basic training today.
“I don’t think they’ll just be the kind of icetime where they just get their legs loose,” understated head coach Drew Schoneck, still angry Sunday after his team was drubbed 6-0 in Kamloops on Saturday.
The Cougars will hit the ice at 7:45 a.m. at Kin 3. The team’s regular practice goes at 2:15 p.m. at CN Centre. A bag skate isn’t ideal when the Cats are playing host to Kelowna the next day, but it has come down to this.
The players, on a WHL roster, will be taken back to their peewee days.
“We’re going to skate twice (today) and we’re going to hit them with the simple stuff like calling for passes, shooting when we’re supposed to shoot and stopping on loose pucks,” said Schoneck.
“If that isn’t done, we’re going to have some skating time. That’s what we’re lacking is the simple-ness in our game. Our shift-by-shift intensity isn’t there, and it’s costing us. We do have to play Kelowna... but we have to work on our power play and work on being intense.
“It wasn’t a good weekend. We didn’t do what we wanted to do, or accomplish what we wanted to accomplish.”
Beyond bag-skates, Schoneck and general manager Dallas Thompson only have one other option.
“It becomes an icetime thing,” said Schoneck.
“The trade deadline has come and passed, they’re here and if they want to play, or play on the power play, then they have to start performing. It’s not a given right for so-and-so to go on the power play because of what he did last year. What have you done lately? If you work, you’ll get rewards, as an individual or a team. If they’re not going to work, they’re going to be sitting in the stands.”
The Cougars have been shut out in two straight games, including Friday’s 4-0 setback in Kelowna. Dating back to Wednesday’s shootout loss in Portland, the Cats haven’t scored in 148 minutes 11 seconds.
Prince George concluded a four-game road trip with one win — that on the first night away, in Chilliwack — and three points. The standings are an eyesore, with these over-touted Cougars seemingly acting comfortable in third place despite the fact the Rockets, a team in full rebuild mode, are four points back, and the expansion Bruins, made up of misfits and castoffs, not out of it, either. Chilliwack is eight points in arrears of the Cougars.
Second place is gone. Despite losing to Tri-City on Sunday, Kamloops has 26 points to work with and is putting all its energy on catching Vancouver for first.
Friday’s loss was hard to swallow because the Cougars didn’t bring a WHL-level work ethic. Saturday’s game started well for Prince George, but spiralled out of control in the latter minutes of the first period. Ray Macias, Ivan Rohac, Tyler Shattock and Juuso Puustinen scored in a five-minute span to give the Blazers a 4-0 lead, causing Schoneck to make a goaltending switch from Real Cyr to Scott Bowles.
Puustinen and Macias both scored on Bowles over the final 40 minutes to make the scoreboard hum. Blazers goaltender Dustin Butler, the WHL’s leader in wins and shutouts, made 18 saves for his seventh blank of the season, breaking the Kamloops franchise record formerly shared by Devan Dubnyk (he did it twice) and Corey Hirsch.
“For the first 14 minutes of the first period (Saturday), we did what we wanted — we hemmed them in and we were outshooting them 10-1 or 10-2 at that point,” said Schoneck.
The final shot count — 34-18 in favour of the Blazers. That means the Cougars were outshot 32-8 over the final 46 minutes, this fragile team deflated after a bad giveaway by a veteran defenceman led to Kamloops’s first goal.
“We had some quality chances early and didn’t bury them, then we decided to be too fancy again,” said Schoneck.
“We refuse to take the easy shot, when Kamloops shot it from everywhere, the goal line, the blueline, everywhere. We’re trying to thread it through three sticks and four legs to make a pretty play instead of getting it on net and going for a rebound. We probably turned down 15 shots each game. We had some guys overhandle the puck and it ended up in the back of our net, then before we knew it the score was 4-0. We were all like, what just happened there? They get the first goal, (Ty Wishart) mishandled the puck on that one, and the second one was a backbreaker. Then all hell broke loose.
“We’re beating ourself right now.”
There is help on the way — though the returnees will have to take their efforts to a higher level than have been on display most of the year. Veterans Vladimir Mihalik, Jesse Dudas and Devin Setoguchi are all expected to be back for Tuesday. Mihalik’s oversized equipment was lost in airline luggage, so he didn’t play on the weekend; Setoguchi’s annoying knee is ready for a game test; and Dudas, who won’t be in peak cardio condition, is recovered sufficiently from a knee tweak. None of those three played on the weekend.
“I see a light at the end of the tunnel, but we need some of our older guys, our leaders, to step it up,” said Schoneck.
“We have too good of a team to not have a light, and our guys have pride and they know we let the weekend slip. Some guys are feeling snake-bit, getting opportunities and not scoring. But when that starts happening it’s back to basics to get confidence. It takes work, it’s not going to come easy.”