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Sput
03-05-2005, 11:21 AM
Saturday, March 5, 2005


Cats blow lead, lose key game


by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
The sooner the Prince George Cougars accept the fact that nothing is going to come easy for them, the better off they'll be.

Problem is, it may already be too late.

The Cougars bolted out to a 3-0 lead Friday against the visiting Spokane Chiefs, only to watch the other fifth-place team in the contest score the next four goals.

Just like that, the oxygen - and the optimism - was sucked out of the balloon. The stars aligned for the Cougars; the sky was clouded by the loss. The Kamloops Blazers did their part to help Prince George's longshot playoff quest, losing 3-0 in Cranbrook to the Kootenay Ice, but that is now a footnote following the Cougars' 38th loss of the season.

The Cats, now a whisker away from making it three-straight fifth-place finishes, are seven points back of Kamloops with seven games to play. Worst of all, some players appear to have given up already - or at least they did in the final 40 minutes Friday.

"It's embarrassing. That's a team we can beat, and should've beat," said Cougars captain Myles Zimmer.

"There are no answers right now. I don't know what Kamloops did (Friday), but we have to stop depending on them to help us. It comes down to pride, for a team like that to shut us out the way they did is embarrassing, there's not much to say. There was no pride in our game."

The first seven goals of the game were all scored on the same net - the Cougars led 3-0 after one period, but Spokane erupted for three-plus-one in the second. Colin Patterson had two goals and an assist, Nick Drazenovic was in on all three of his team's markers, and Lee Zalasky finished a beautiful passing play to put Prince George up convincingly.

But there is no such thing as 'ahead convincingly' where the Cougars are involved. Unless, of course, the other team is ahead convincingly.

The Chiefs replied, did they ever - Chad Klassen, Jeff Lynch, Sean Zimmerman and Michel Grabner beating Cougars starter Scott Bowles, who was replaced by Real Cyr for the third period.

Another second-period collapse. This season, the Cougars have been outscored 85-40 in the middle frame. Ouch.

"It's a 60-minute hockey game, and the fact the guys get complacent, because that's what it appears to be, must be my fault," said Cougars head coach Lane Lambert.

"There's no other way of looking at it. These guys have to be motivated, and right now not all of them are. I thought we came out strong in the first 20, then basically thought it was going to be easy. That team is fighting for a playoff spot as well, and they showed more will and determination than we did in those 40 minutes."

The Chiefs, meanwhile, moved into a tie with Tri-City for the final U.S. Division playoff spot. Spokane had something to play for, and it showed with the way they responded to the early deficit.

"I really felt for our guys in the first. (The Cougars) got a bounce, and they took off in that first period," said Spokane coach Al Conroy. "Our guys played like they were going for something there, they responded well. It was the kind of effort we needed for three (periods)."

With all the new lows the Cougars have experienced this season, they could dig a tunnel to China. Friday was just another, and this one will be tough to recover from.

"The reason we're in fifth place is we don't do the things we need to do to be a consistent hockey team," said Lambert, whose team was outshot 24-8 after the first intermission. "Obviously, somewhere along the way, the message is fuzzy."

The two teams meet again tonight, a 7:30 start.

KITTY LITTER: The Cougars played without three youngsters - Dan Gendur, Ty Wishart and Evan Fuller - who were suspended for skipping classes... Eric Hunter, out two months with a broken ankle, was impressive in his return, seeing duty on special teams in addition to taking a regular shift... Attendance was 2,812, third-lowest of the year... Both teams had one power play goal, the Cougars on three chances, the Chiefs on five.


�Copyright 2005 Prince George Citizen

Sput
03-05-2005, 11:22 AM
Pretty strong words by the captain on the play of the team. Its sad to say, I think its a little to late for the "win one for the Gipper" speaches.

fightstrap50
03-05-2005, 11:34 AM
this season has strated me wondering how long will it take to fire the coach of the cougars as it seems to me that knowone wants to play hard for him. maybe hes to friendly or maybe hes to mean i dont know really but i do know that you guys losing and losing more and more cant be the faults of the players game after game,it just seems the players dont like to play for him anymore, anyone else that can add to this theory let me know id be interested in hearing more on this

Sput
03-05-2005, 02:07 PM
I don't think its so much the coach. Yes Lane is all business, and takes his job maybe to seriously, but it is more the players not wanting to play a full 60 minutes of hockey, or when they get behind one or two guys think they should just do it all, and then everyone abandons the systems that were working. I hate beating a dead horse, but there are still a lot of players that spent to much time under Dempsey, and his lack of systems and control around town are ledgendary. I know he is doing well with the Spruce Kings right now, but he also has a very strong group of individual leaders on his team right now, reminicent of the Betts/Bouck/Hunter years with the Cougars. I heard one time that for this coaching staff this is year one of a three to five year plan. There has to be that nature attrician that happens in Junior hockey, and once some of the old school guys are gone, it might turn around.

Jovorock
03-06-2005, 12:16 PM
KITTY LITTER: The Cougars played without three youngsters - Dan Gendur, Ty Wishart and Evan Fuller - who were suspended for skipping classes...
�Copyright 2005 Prince George Citizen
Hope these three kids learn that school is suppose to number one and hockey is number two. I remember the Rockets had three kids suspended about six years ago for grades falling below what was satisfactory.

fightstrap50
03-06-2005, 05:06 PM
well i hope something good happens for you fans and the team up there in PG soon it sure would be nice to have five teams that are very competitive here in the B.C. division so we would quit being called the weaker division in the WHL,which i think is BS :burningma personally!! The ICE have proven that a BC team can compete day in and day out with any central team or East conference team for that matter, so we all should be able to. Theres no diference to the qaulity but why is it this way?? It just seems that some of the BC teams only learn to play as hard as they need to play in the BC division and then get blown away in the East,we all have to step it up against each other here to be competitive there,maybe its just because were called weaker thats why we only play as ahrd as it takes here to win against each other cause after all were "weak" right :burningma . LOL