TwoBits
03-14-2008, 08:46 AM
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=123249&Itemid=564
Something old, something new for Cats
(Sports) Thursday, 13 March 2008, 21:35 PST
JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
This weekend is about remembering the past, and looking forward to the future.
As forward Nick Buonassisi and defenceman Bruin McDonald, both underaged midget players, start their full-time tour of the Western Hockey League, three veterans are three games away from the next chapter of their lives.
The Prince George Cougars start a three-game, season-ending road swing tonight in Vancouver, and prized prospects Buonassisi and McDonald will be in the lineup against the Giants. McDonald and Buonassisi both played for the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs major midget team that was eliminated last weekend by the Cariboo Cougars.
Buonassisi played two games for the Cats before Christmas, scoring one goal -- the Teddy Bear goal on Dec. 15. McDonald, a Coquitlam product who turned 16 on Jan. 4, also saw two games with the Cougars before Christmas, then skated in two road games in January. McDonald was a seventh-round choice in the 2007 bantam draft, while Buonassisi, another Coquitlam native, was taken in the 11th round.
For the WHL’s Cougars, the trip continues in Kelowna on Saturday, and finishes Sunday in Kamloops.
Tonight, captain Greg Gardner will match Chris Falloon with 336 career games played, sharing the franchise longevity record -- that includes the club’s time in Prince George and Victoria. Barring injury Gardner, a fifth-year Cougar, will break the mark when he plays in Kelowna, then extend it to 338 games in Kamloops.
Goaltender Real Cyr, a four-year Cougar who has started 13-straight games, and defenceman Kalvin Sagert, who spent the last three seasons of his five-year WHL career, also see their junior time come to an end without a playoff series as closure. The Cougars are 19-46-1-3 this season and will finish ninth in the Western Conference, missing the playoffs for the third time in five seasons.
Brad Riege, who suffered a concussion against Seattle last week, is expected to return as early as tonight. Ian Curtis (shoulder), Jan Kupec (shoulder) and Trevor Bauer (wrist) are not likely to play.
Well, the 20 year olds may not end their careers with a playoff series but Gardner is still breaking records and I'm sure Cyr is loving being able to play this many games consecutively.
Something old, something new for Cats
(Sports) Thursday, 13 March 2008, 21:35 PST
JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
This weekend is about remembering the past, and looking forward to the future.
As forward Nick Buonassisi and defenceman Bruin McDonald, both underaged midget players, start their full-time tour of the Western Hockey League, three veterans are three games away from the next chapter of their lives.
The Prince George Cougars start a three-game, season-ending road swing tonight in Vancouver, and prized prospects Buonassisi and McDonald will be in the lineup against the Giants. McDonald and Buonassisi both played for the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs major midget team that was eliminated last weekend by the Cariboo Cougars.
Buonassisi played two games for the Cats before Christmas, scoring one goal -- the Teddy Bear goal on Dec. 15. McDonald, a Coquitlam product who turned 16 on Jan. 4, also saw two games with the Cougars before Christmas, then skated in two road games in January. McDonald was a seventh-round choice in the 2007 bantam draft, while Buonassisi, another Coquitlam native, was taken in the 11th round.
For the WHL’s Cougars, the trip continues in Kelowna on Saturday, and finishes Sunday in Kamloops.
Tonight, captain Greg Gardner will match Chris Falloon with 336 career games played, sharing the franchise longevity record -- that includes the club’s time in Prince George and Victoria. Barring injury Gardner, a fifth-year Cougar, will break the mark when he plays in Kelowna, then extend it to 338 games in Kamloops.
Goaltender Real Cyr, a four-year Cougar who has started 13-straight games, and defenceman Kalvin Sagert, who spent the last three seasons of his five-year WHL career, also see their junior time come to an end without a playoff series as closure. The Cougars are 19-46-1-3 this season and will finish ninth in the Western Conference, missing the playoffs for the third time in five seasons.
Brad Riege, who suffered a concussion against Seattle last week, is expected to return as early as tonight. Ian Curtis (shoulder), Jan Kupec (shoulder) and Trevor Bauer (wrist) are not likely to play.
Well, the 20 year olds may not end their careers with a playoff series but Gardner is still breaking records and I'm sure Cyr is loving being able to play this many games consecutively.