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02-01-2007, 10:28 AM
from www.princegeorgecitizen.com
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Perfect road trip for Cats
by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
Not a bad road trip. Not bad at all.
The Prince George Cougars completed a sore-thumb U.S. road trip — two games in two days, slammed in the schedule two days before a two-game homestand — with a pair of victories, the latest a 3-2 overtime triumph over the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Team consultants Trent Yawney and Terry Simpson, ex-NHL coaches added to help assess the inconsistent WHL club and offer assistance to head coach Drew Schoneck, were there to see both wins as the Cougars showed their good side.
“It’s certainly nice to come out of this trip with four points heading into a pretty tough weekend at home,” said Schoneck. “I didn’t think we played as well tonight, but the guys found a way to dig deep and get the win.”
Jared Walker, who a night earlier ended a long goal-scoring drought in a 6-2 drubbing of the Portland Winter Hawks, found the net behind T-birds goaltender Derek Yeomans at 2:39 of overtime, providing the difference.
Ex-Seattle centre Chris Durand, playing his first game back at KeyArena following a Dec. 26 trade to Prince George, picked up an assist on Walker’s 14th goal of the season.
“We crashed the net on the winner. That’s what we’ve been preaching over the last couple of weeks and it paid off,” said Schoneck, whose team improved to 9-14-1-3 on the road and 21-23-2-4 overall, within shouting distance of the elusive .500 mark.
“(Durand) had a breakaway on his first shift of the game and the puck sat on the goal line and didn’t go in. He had numerous chances to score after that, and I know he’s happy he was able to contribute on the game-winner.”
After a scoreless first period, the teams combined to do all the regulation scoring in the second.
Nick Drazenovic scored twice, his 13th and 14th of the season, while Jeremy Boyer, notching his first in the WHL, and Radek Meidl replied for Seattle (22-16-2-11 overall, 10-6-1-6 at home). Former Cougars Prab Rai and Brett Robertson did not factor in the scoring, nor did ex-Seattle forward Chad Hohmann.
“Nick’s goals were hard-working goals — on the first one, he came through the neutral zone with speed, made a nice move and scored,” said Schoneck. “The other one, hard work paid off for his line and it’s nice to see them be rewarded.”
Yeomans faced 23 shots. Scott Bowles, who got the call in goal for both road games, stopped 14 shots in the first period and 29 overall.
“Bowles played well in Portland, especially in the first few minutes when he had to make some really nice stops because they came out hard, and we thought we’d go back to him,” said Schoneck. “He was first star in this one and he played very, very well.”
The Cougars are home this weekend to face the Prince Albert Raiders (Friday) and Kamloops Blazers (Saturday). After that is a two-game trip to tropical B.C. climes, Tuesday in Kamloops and Wednesday in Vancouver.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Perfect road trip for Cats
by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
Not a bad road trip. Not bad at all.
The Prince George Cougars completed a sore-thumb U.S. road trip — two games in two days, slammed in the schedule two days before a two-game homestand — with a pair of victories, the latest a 3-2 overtime triumph over the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Team consultants Trent Yawney and Terry Simpson, ex-NHL coaches added to help assess the inconsistent WHL club and offer assistance to head coach Drew Schoneck, were there to see both wins as the Cougars showed their good side.
“It’s certainly nice to come out of this trip with four points heading into a pretty tough weekend at home,” said Schoneck. “I didn’t think we played as well tonight, but the guys found a way to dig deep and get the win.”
Jared Walker, who a night earlier ended a long goal-scoring drought in a 6-2 drubbing of the Portland Winter Hawks, found the net behind T-birds goaltender Derek Yeomans at 2:39 of overtime, providing the difference.
Ex-Seattle centre Chris Durand, playing his first game back at KeyArena following a Dec. 26 trade to Prince George, picked up an assist on Walker’s 14th goal of the season.
“We crashed the net on the winner. That’s what we’ve been preaching over the last couple of weeks and it paid off,” said Schoneck, whose team improved to 9-14-1-3 on the road and 21-23-2-4 overall, within shouting distance of the elusive .500 mark.
“(Durand) had a breakaway on his first shift of the game and the puck sat on the goal line and didn’t go in. He had numerous chances to score after that, and I know he’s happy he was able to contribute on the game-winner.”
After a scoreless first period, the teams combined to do all the regulation scoring in the second.
Nick Drazenovic scored twice, his 13th and 14th of the season, while Jeremy Boyer, notching his first in the WHL, and Radek Meidl replied for Seattle (22-16-2-11 overall, 10-6-1-6 at home). Former Cougars Prab Rai and Brett Robertson did not factor in the scoring, nor did ex-Seattle forward Chad Hohmann.
“Nick’s goals were hard-working goals — on the first one, he came through the neutral zone with speed, made a nice move and scored,” said Schoneck. “The other one, hard work paid off for his line and it’s nice to see them be rewarded.”
Yeomans faced 23 shots. Scott Bowles, who got the call in goal for both road games, stopped 14 shots in the first period and 29 overall.
“Bowles played well in Portland, especially in the first few minutes when he had to make some really nice stops because they came out hard, and we thought we’d go back to him,” said Schoneck. “He was first star in this one and he played very, very well.”
The Cougars are home this weekend to face the Prince Albert Raiders (Friday) and Kamloops Blazers (Saturday). After that is a two-game trip to tropical B.C. climes, Tuesday in Kamloops and Wednesday in Vancouver.