WestLEAFfan
12-15-2007, 07:47 AM
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=108440&Itemid=564
No joy in Cougarville, Blazers triumph
(Sports) Friday, 14 December 2007, 23:07 PST
JIM SWANSONCitizen Sports Editor
Prince George Cougars winger Alex Poulter gets the worst of this hit handed out behind the net by Kamloops Blazers defenceman Victor Bartley. The Blazers won 7-2. (Citizen photo by Brent Braaten) Before each Prince George Cougars game, the PA announcer at CN Centre warns fans that “pucks leave the ice with great force.”
Indeed, it's more dangerous to be a spectator than an opposition forward parked in the area around the Cougars net. There's absolutely no chance of being hit by a Cougars defenceman if you're standing near the crease.
Soft defensive play during a penalty kill by the Cougars led to the first Kamloops goal 4:23 in, setting the tone, and the visitors posted what has to be one of the easiest road wins in the history of the game with a 7-2 breezer.
The teams meet again today, 7 p.m. at CN Centre, the annual Teddy Bear Toss. Maybe this time, game 36 of the season for Prince George, the Cougars won't play as soft as the stuffed animals that will be thrown on the ice when the Cougars score. That's if the Cougars score.
“To quote John Tortorella, it was an old-fashioned (crap)-kicking,” said Cougars head coach Drew Schoneck, at a loss to explain the lack of character and pride shown by individual players.
“We're losing too many battles and we don't have enough guys who care. The guys who do, we can't keep them on the ice for the full 60 minutes. The rats get exposed in games like this and you can really see the character when the games go the other way, and you see the guys who fold the tent and go home.
“We battle in practice against our own players, we battle hard, but then in games -- that? What is that? It's the most confusing thing in the world. This is the biggest weekend of our first half and we have guys who go out like figure skaters.”
In the first two periods, there was only one Cougar who seemed interested in risking a bruise, and that was defenceman Jesse Dudas -- given his track record with injuries, he might not be the best option. Overheard from a fan in Section K -- “Hey, Wishart, your next hit will be your first of the season.”
The highlight of the night? The Kiss-Cam. Too many veterans failed to show Friday -- perhaps they were hiding in a washroom somewhere to avoid a camera. It's not wrong to wonder if this team has tossed in the towels before the Teddys come out to play.
The Cougars have lost six in a row, a fact that shocks no one. This team has won twice in 17 games since Nov. 4, a date they found themselves sitting at the .500 mark at 9-9-0-0.
Prince George (11-23-1-0) is 11 points back of Kamloops (16-16-1-1) for the final Western Conference postseason berth. This is a playoff race that could be all but over by the Jan. 10 trade deadline -- which says it's time for general manager Dallas Thompson to unload every veteran he can and look toward next year. This is Next Year Country, isn't it?
“If I was a fan, or the media, I'd be saying the same thing about our playoff chances, probably,”admitted captain Greg Gardner.
“We have to start punishing teams, and we didn't do that. It's too easy to play against us in our zone, they skate around and they get chances because we're not hitting. There are guys who look like... who knows if they want to be here. But we have to compete, everyone has to play better.”
Gardner said he'd like to start hitting some teammates over the head with a goalie stick, but he's trying to stay positive. On that mission, we wish him luck, because little positive is coming from the half-empty green seats.
Kamloops scored the first goal of the game on, you guessed it, a power play. The defencemen refused to engage anyone in a white sweater down low, letting the Blazers operate at will around the net without paying the price. Eventually, former Spruce Kings defenceman Darcy Huisman, the Smithers product playing his first WHL game at CN Centre, swooped in and collected his second of the season.
The Cougars had their moments -- 10 seconds worth, to be precise. The team's two goals came in a 10-second span in the opening period, the first on Gardner's tip of a Dudas point shot, the second coming off the centre-ice faceoff when Evan Fuller broke down the right wing and found Kamloops goalie Justin Leclerc way off his angle. Fuller picked the far side with ease.
The Kamloops floodgates opened in the second as the Blazers scored three easy goals, unanswered by the Cougars. After Tyler Shattock and Alex Rodgers turned a one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead with tallies 2:31 apart, Scott Wasden got a gift when he caught Cougars goaltender Tommy Tartaglione well out of his net to play the puck and deposited his seventh of the season into an inviting cage.
Wasden added his second and third of the night in the final period, to go with a goal by Jimmy Bubnick, making it an embarrassment for the Cougars. Bubnick, 16, finished the evening with three points.
“We've lost some games like that recently, so we know what it feels like for them,” said Blazers new coach Greg Hawgood. “We know we'll see a different team from them (tonight).”
Dudas, Kalvin Sagert and Dana Tyrell all ended up minus-3 on the night, and Sagert is now minus-21 on the season. If this wasn't rock bottom, the Cougars could soon find themselves in China. It was so bad, the team's healthy scratches were seen laughing most of the night from the cheap seats. With the trade deadline looming, some players might as well skate around with signs telling the fans they don't want to be here.
“We were very easy to play against, and we need more from everyone,” said Thompson. “We have things in mind, and we have to get better. That was unacceptable.”
Leclerc had a pretty easy night in goal for Kamloops. The 18-year-old faced few quality chances among his 29 stops. Tartaglione stopped 24 shots.
I think the solution is simple, if you don't want to play and it is that evident, go home! Come on Mr. Thompson, it's high time to read the writing on the wall. :burningma
No joy in Cougarville, Blazers triumph
(Sports) Friday, 14 December 2007, 23:07 PST
JIM SWANSONCitizen Sports Editor
Prince George Cougars winger Alex Poulter gets the worst of this hit handed out behind the net by Kamloops Blazers defenceman Victor Bartley. The Blazers won 7-2. (Citizen photo by Brent Braaten) Before each Prince George Cougars game, the PA announcer at CN Centre warns fans that “pucks leave the ice with great force.”
Indeed, it's more dangerous to be a spectator than an opposition forward parked in the area around the Cougars net. There's absolutely no chance of being hit by a Cougars defenceman if you're standing near the crease.
Soft defensive play during a penalty kill by the Cougars led to the first Kamloops goal 4:23 in, setting the tone, and the visitors posted what has to be one of the easiest road wins in the history of the game with a 7-2 breezer.
The teams meet again today, 7 p.m. at CN Centre, the annual Teddy Bear Toss. Maybe this time, game 36 of the season for Prince George, the Cougars won't play as soft as the stuffed animals that will be thrown on the ice when the Cougars score. That's if the Cougars score.
“To quote John Tortorella, it was an old-fashioned (crap)-kicking,” said Cougars head coach Drew Schoneck, at a loss to explain the lack of character and pride shown by individual players.
“We're losing too many battles and we don't have enough guys who care. The guys who do, we can't keep them on the ice for the full 60 minutes. The rats get exposed in games like this and you can really see the character when the games go the other way, and you see the guys who fold the tent and go home.
“We battle in practice against our own players, we battle hard, but then in games -- that? What is that? It's the most confusing thing in the world. This is the biggest weekend of our first half and we have guys who go out like figure skaters.”
In the first two periods, there was only one Cougar who seemed interested in risking a bruise, and that was defenceman Jesse Dudas -- given his track record with injuries, he might not be the best option. Overheard from a fan in Section K -- “Hey, Wishart, your next hit will be your first of the season.”
The highlight of the night? The Kiss-Cam. Too many veterans failed to show Friday -- perhaps they were hiding in a washroom somewhere to avoid a camera. It's not wrong to wonder if this team has tossed in the towels before the Teddys come out to play.
The Cougars have lost six in a row, a fact that shocks no one. This team has won twice in 17 games since Nov. 4, a date they found themselves sitting at the .500 mark at 9-9-0-0.
Prince George (11-23-1-0) is 11 points back of Kamloops (16-16-1-1) for the final Western Conference postseason berth. This is a playoff race that could be all but over by the Jan. 10 trade deadline -- which says it's time for general manager Dallas Thompson to unload every veteran he can and look toward next year. This is Next Year Country, isn't it?
“If I was a fan, or the media, I'd be saying the same thing about our playoff chances, probably,”admitted captain Greg Gardner.
“We have to start punishing teams, and we didn't do that. It's too easy to play against us in our zone, they skate around and they get chances because we're not hitting. There are guys who look like... who knows if they want to be here. But we have to compete, everyone has to play better.”
Gardner said he'd like to start hitting some teammates over the head with a goalie stick, but he's trying to stay positive. On that mission, we wish him luck, because little positive is coming from the half-empty green seats.
Kamloops scored the first goal of the game on, you guessed it, a power play. The defencemen refused to engage anyone in a white sweater down low, letting the Blazers operate at will around the net without paying the price. Eventually, former Spruce Kings defenceman Darcy Huisman, the Smithers product playing his first WHL game at CN Centre, swooped in and collected his second of the season.
The Cougars had their moments -- 10 seconds worth, to be precise. The team's two goals came in a 10-second span in the opening period, the first on Gardner's tip of a Dudas point shot, the second coming off the centre-ice faceoff when Evan Fuller broke down the right wing and found Kamloops goalie Justin Leclerc way off his angle. Fuller picked the far side with ease.
The Kamloops floodgates opened in the second as the Blazers scored three easy goals, unanswered by the Cougars. After Tyler Shattock and Alex Rodgers turned a one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead with tallies 2:31 apart, Scott Wasden got a gift when he caught Cougars goaltender Tommy Tartaglione well out of his net to play the puck and deposited his seventh of the season into an inviting cage.
Wasden added his second and third of the night in the final period, to go with a goal by Jimmy Bubnick, making it an embarrassment for the Cougars. Bubnick, 16, finished the evening with three points.
“We've lost some games like that recently, so we know what it feels like for them,” said Blazers new coach Greg Hawgood. “We know we'll see a different team from them (tonight).”
Dudas, Kalvin Sagert and Dana Tyrell all ended up minus-3 on the night, and Sagert is now minus-21 on the season. If this wasn't rock bottom, the Cougars could soon find themselves in China. It was so bad, the team's healthy scratches were seen laughing most of the night from the cheap seats. With the trade deadline looming, some players might as well skate around with signs telling the fans they don't want to be here.
“We were very easy to play against, and we need more from everyone,” said Thompson. “We have things in mind, and we have to get better. That was unacceptable.”
Leclerc had a pretty easy night in goal for Kamloops. The 18-year-old faced few quality chances among his 29 stops. Tartaglione stopped 24 shots.
I think the solution is simple, if you don't want to play and it is that evident, go home! Come on Mr. Thompson, it's high time to read the writing on the wall. :burningma