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Sput
03-23-2007, 12:49 PM
from: www.princegeorgecitizen.com


Friday, March 23, 2007
No excuses for Cougars
Prince George favoured to win WHL playoff series for first time in recent history

by JIM SWANSON Citizen Sports Editor

Two teams, going in opposite directions.

That about sums up this first-round WHL playoff meeting of two rivals, the Prince George Cougars and Kamloops Blazers.

Things were so rosy for the Blazers not so long ago, when the club was setting a pace that would have them win 40 games for the first time since 1998-99 and when Kamloops coach/GM Dean Clark was being touted as a two-award winner – coach of the year, and executive of the year. But Clark didn’t get a conference nomination for either honour. Since Feb. 1, which was a few days before the Blazers took over first place in the B.C. Division for the shortest of periods, Kamloops is 4-13-3-1, one of the worst records in the league for the final six weeks of the regular season.

Conversely, on Jan. 1, the Cougars sat with a dismal 14-19-2-3 record, and the question was if general manager Dallas Thompson should be dismantling an old team and focusing on the future.

Thompson stood still, the only major move being the demotion of overmatched goaltender Jordan White and the return of 20-year-old Scott Bowles, and the team responded with a 17-12-1-2 mark from Jan. 10 on.

What’s interesting to add to the preamble to this series is that the club on the major downswing is the one that has home-ice advantage. That should level the scale somewhat, but the realization that Kamloops star defenceman Ray Macias (30 goals, 70 points, tops among WHL defencemen) is likely out for the season, and captain Reid Jorgensen has some rust to chip away after missing a month because of elbow surgery, puts the Cougars back in the pressure zone. Prince George is favoured, of that there is no doubt, because the Cougars are older and have more playoff experience. Kamloops is young, led by Jorgensen and Brock Nixon, but the Blazers will give key minutes to Keaton Ellerby and underrated shut-down defenceman Ryan Bender, then pray that the even younger players don’t get caught on the ice when the Cougars’ top lines jump the boards.

Here, broken into specific areas, is a look at the key matchups in this series:

The Last Line

Three goaltenders come into play in previewing the series – Bowles and Real Cyr of the Cougars, and Dustin Butler of the Blazers. Dalyn Flette is the backup for Kamloops, but only a major injury will put him on the ice.

The Cougars have one of the best tandems in the league, but the old saying goes with goaltenders – only one can play. Where it comes into play for the Cats is that Bowles and Cyr have pushed each other for most of three seasons and the good friends hold no grudges against each other. Bowles played all five playoff games last year while Cyr, now 19, watched. Either goaltender can backstop the Cougars to victory in this series, but it’s been apparent that the team plays its best hockey in front of Bowles, a dressing room favourite and a natural leader. The overager has better overall numbers this year (2.43 average, .909 save percentage), and better numbers against Kamloops (3.01, .896), yet indications point to Cyr (2.66/.904 overall, 3.20/.871 against Kamloops) getting the call. That choice may be counterproductive because Cyr played most of his games against Kamloops in the first half when the Blazers were dominating their northern rivals.

Butler (2.92/.876 overall, 3.21/.876 against the Cougars) was one of the most surprising players in the entire league early in the season, rescued from Portland. The 19-year-old led the league in wins at one point, but slumped with the rest of the Blazers in the second half. The memory of giving up eight goals March 9 at CN Centre won’t be far from his mind, and he carries the pressure of having to be nearly perfect for Kamloops to win the series.

ADVANTAGE: Cougars

The Blueline

Doogie Howser, where are you? The Cougars and Blazers need miracle cures for Jesse Dudas and Macias, respectively. Dudas has the same thigh injury that cost him most of last season, and the good money says he won’t play in Kamloops, and certainly not Game 1. Macias won’t play to start, and even a playing cast will limit his ability to handle and shoot the puck.

The Cats will rely on rock-steady Kalvin Sagert and Vladimir Mihalik, and the enigma known as Ty Wishart. Despite leading his team in assists and plus-minus, Wishart is capable of much, much more, particularly in the defensive half of the ice. Wishart, named to the Western Conference second all-star team on Thursday, turns the puck over far too often and makes soft passes every shift, consistently working hard only to get into position for one-timers on the power play. If Wishart regains his interest in playing, as he had during his draft year, he can lead this team deep into the playoffs.

With Dudas (27 assists in 32 games) out, Curtis Patterson becomes the fourth man, with some combination of Chris Vanduynhoven, Garrett Thiessen and Lance Redden making up the third pairing. Sagert and Thiessen are former Blazers, so they will be motivated to eliminate a team that gave up on them.

The Blazers will lean on Ellerby, Ryan Bender and Victor Bartley to fill the Macias minutes. Bartley is a hated man in P.G. for his injury-fake on a phantom spear before Christmas. None are the equal of Mihalik, Sagert, and Wishart, when he feels like it. Ryan White, Jordan Rowley and Kevin Kraus will all dress as long as Macias, a first-team Western Conference all-star, stays out since the Blazers are carrying seven blueliners.

ADVANTAGE: Cougars

The Front Line

As Jorgensen goes, so go the Blazers. The 20-year-old scored eight goals against the Cougars in seven games, and Kamloops lost all head-to-head meetings with the Cats when Jorgensen didn’t play. It’s a theme, but the team’s struggles in 2007 reflected individual player slumps – Brock Nixon, Juuso Puustinen, Terrance Delaronde among them – and those need reversing. The Blazers, again, are younger, and one of the considerations is the insertion of 15-year-old Jimmy Bubnick into the lineup to add scoring punch. Matt Kassian is the toughest player in this series, and his team is 6-2 in games in which he scores. But an eight-goal scorer isn’t going to decide this matchup, regardless of who he’s making space for. Sasha Golin, Brady Mason, Tyler Shattock, C.J. Stretch and Ivan Rohac give depth behind the top two lines.

Devin Setoguchi is the most skilled player who will be on the ice, and the Blazers’ defence has had trouble corralling him, dealing with his speed – hence his 15 points in eight games vs. Kamloops. His linemates, Jared Walker and Chris Durand, know enough to clear space for Setoguchi’s speed to melt the ice. The focus on Setoguchi allows Eric Hunter, Nick Drazenovic and Dana Tyrell to play without the pressure of being the go-to guys. Greg Gardner, Richard Rapac, Evan Fuller, Jordie Deagle, Dale Hunt and Chad Hohmann are all dependable players, usable in different situations.

ADVANTAGE: Cougars, based on depth

The Sidelines

There’s that theme again – the Blazers had trouble scoring on the power play, killing penalties, and staying out of the box in the last two months of the season, so it’s no secret the record tumbled. What is surprising is that the slide happened under the watch of Clark and assistants Shane Zulyniak and Andy Milne, who deserved so much credit for what happened before Christmas. Clark knows the ropes, taking Calgary and Brandon deep into the playoffs in previous WHL stops.

The Cougars made a needed coaching change in November, and it took time for the adjustment to take shape. There are still signs the players haven’t bought in completely, but successes since mid-January indicate Drew Schoneck has grabbed their attention and earned their respect. This club falls off the gameplan easily, and the confidence is never far from ‘fragile’ state.

Special teams always impact a seven-game series. On paper, this aspect favours the Cougars in a significant way, but Jorgensen’s return is the wild card. The Blazers had a stretch of 13 consecutive games in which they allowed at least one power-play goal against, and at the same time their own power play was limp without the captain. Is one player really that important? In the Blazers’ case, it appears so.

ADVANTAGE: Blazers, narrowly – thanks to Clark’s experience.

CITIZEN PREDICTION: Cougars in six. Make it five if Macias is truly out for the series.

old_time_hockey
03-23-2007, 04:58 PM
Go Cougars!!! Go lay the smack down on the Blazers.