KEL 5 vs. PG 2

[TwoBits]

Well. I didn't tune this one out. Sounds like the effort was still there and things are beginning to click. :)

[puckmam]

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=112280&Itemid=564


Cougars lose to Rockets again (0)
(Sports) Saturday, 12 January 2008, 21:51 PST
Jim Swanson


Cody Almond had a goal and two assists to lead the visiting Kelowna Rockets to a 5-2 win over the Prince George Cougars in WHL action Saturday.

The result comes a night after the Rockets, now 27-13-2-4 on the season, crushed the Cougars 11-1 at CN Centre, the worst home-ice loss in Prince George's history.

Collin Bowman, with his first WHL goal, Brandon McMillan, Kyle St. Denis and WHL scoring leader Colin Long, into an empty net, had the other Kelowna goals. Kristopher Westblom stopped 17 shots for his 18th victory of the season.

Justin Maylan, with his first goal as a Cougar, and Dana Tyrell replied for the Cougars. Maylan, 16, was acquired earlier in the week in a major trade that saw the Cougars send San Jose Sharks first-round draft choice Ty Wishart and veteran winger Evan Fuller to the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Cougars goaltender Ian Curtis faced 40 shots for Prince George (13-29-1-0), which has won just four of its last 25 games. The Cougars are ninth in the Western Conference, trailing the Kamloops Blazers by 15 points for the final post-season berth after the Blazers ended a four-game losing streak with a home-ice win over Chilliwack.


Saturday summary
Rockets 5 at Cougars 2

First Period
1. Kelowna, Almond 14 (Benn, Leavold) 17:36 (pp)
Penalties – C.Tyrell PG (tripping) 4:34, Bowman Kel (interference) 7:54, Magnusson PG (interference) 16:59.
Second Period
2. Kelowna, Bowman 1 (Benn, Kytnar) 3:38
3. Prince George, Maylan 2 (Stanfield, Bidlevskii) 7:41 (pp)
4. Prince George, D.Tyrell 17 (Gardner, Deagle) 11:19 (pp)
5. Kelowna, McMillan 11 (St. Denis, Almond) 18:46 (pp)
Penalties – Bowman Kel (tripping) 1:31, Kytnar Kel (interference) 5:56, Kytnar Kel (slashing) 11:04, Hobbs PG (hooking) 18:34.
Third Period
6. Kelowna, St. Denis 12 (Almond, Dowzak) 9:26
7. Kelowna, Long 23 (Leavold, Benn) 19:45 (en)
Penalties – Deagle PG (hooking) 4:08, Dowzak Kel (hooking) 6:08, Kowalski PG (holding) 13:42.
Shots on goal by
Kelowna 9 16 16 --41
Prince George 6 8 5 --19
Power plays – Prince George: 2-5; Kelowna: 2-5.
Goal – Prince George, Ian Curtis (L,4-3-0); Kelowna, Kristopher Westblom (W,18-8-3).
Referees – Andy Thiessen; Linesmen – Chris DeHaan, Korey Martens.
Scratches – Prince George (79 man-games lost to injury/suspension this season): D Trevor Bauer (concussion, indefinite, missed three games), C Jan Kupec (healthy); Kelowna: LW James McEwan (lacerated arm, indefinite), LW Jesse Paradis (healthy), D Luke Schenn (rest following world junior duty).

Attendance – 2,680.
Why bench Kupec?

[PGFlyfisher]

Why bench Kupec? Most likely a numbers thing. However, he hasn' t really impressed me as much as a lot of the other youngsters. Maybe the coaches see it the same way and reward the others with more ice time.

As for the game last night, much improved effort. applause Hard work by everyone. Gonna take a few games for all to get on the same page but I definitely see some promise!

[TwoBits]

Maybe the coach needed to see the new guys play in order to form a "game plan". The team will have a few days to practice together now before they face Portland. It would be nice if they could get 4 points out of that series before they meet Kamloops.

The announcers were still playing up Riege last night and Curtis was interviewed at the end of the game. He sounds like a pretty level headed and dedicated kid. He admitted freely the mistakes he made and was already talking about viewing the tape to figure out what he was doing wrong and how he could improve. That's the kind of stuff I like to hear.

[WestLEAFfan]

Optimism in the COUGAR forum! Nice to see and read. I bet it's positive in the dressing room as well. pbj