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Sput
10-19-2005, 09:40 AM
Beautiful game last night guys! Moose Jaw opens the scoring in the first period, but the boys stayed with the game plan and kept the pressure on. Two goals by Drazenovic in the second pushed the Cougs to the win, with the eventual game winner in the third by Eric Hunter.

A lot of flow to the game last night. Not a lot of penalties, PG 1-5 pn the PP and MJ 0-3. Very entertaining game with all end to end action, not really any rough or chippy crap after the plays. Referee Pat Smith did a pretty good job of letting two fast playing teams play their game.

It was nice to see a healthy lineup at the ticket office for a mid-week game. Announced attendance was 3008, and for this town and being mid-week, thats pretty good.

I'll post the Citizen artical on this thread.

Sput
10-19-2005, 09:41 AM
Nick does the trick
Drazenovic helps Cats to seventh win in eight games

by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor

For Nick Drazenovic, the double-scoop was a long time coming.
The 18-year-old - seems like he's been a Cougar longer than three full seasons, doesn't it? - who is known for his offensive ability hadn't scored two goals in a game since he was 16. It last happened four days before his 17th birthday, to be precise.

Well, that monkey has been tagged, bagged and relocated after the Prince George Cougars centre put two pucks in the net Tuesday in a 3-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors at CN Centre.

"I did think about how long it had been since I scored twice in a game," said Drazenovic, a St. Louis Blues draft choice (sixth round, 2005) who last scored two goals in a game on Jan. 10, 2004 in a game in Red Deer - his only other two-goal effort in the league.

"Our line is rolling right now, and we're riding the wave. We're focusing on playing defence, and the points are coming for all of us. I'm usually the one doing the passing, but I was fortunate enough to score the goals."

The Cougars, they are rolling, winners in seven of their last eight to improve to 8-4-0-0. Sitting two points out of first place in the B.C. Division, the WHL's best grouping, is heady breathing space for a team that has missed the playoffs the last two seasons and finished dead last in the division three years running.

But take a look at the standings - the Kelowna Rockets are alone in first overall with 18 points, and the Cats have 16, tied for second with Calgary. The last time the Cats had this kind of start? Let's just say this - that season ended with Cinderella coming to town.

"I thought Prince George came out strong and our guys just kinda said, 'wow,'" said Moose Jaw coach Steve Young, who watched his club lose in regulation for just the second time this season (6-2-0-1).

"Our best period was the third, but it wasn't enough. This was a good challenge for our best forwards. I thought (Prince George's) top line was outplaying our top two lines and they did a good job of getting to pucks that were available. The team that deserved to win was the team that played the full game."

It seemed, good or otherwise, that Drazenovic played a role in each of the goals.

In the first period, his giveaway in Moose Jaw's zone led to the Warriors first goal, by Dustin Boyd, but Drazenovic atoned for the gaffe by taking full advantage of Moose Jaw defensive-zone turnovers and scoring twice in the second period.

On his first marker, Drazenovic ended up with the puck after Troy Brouwer, one of the many high-octane Warriors forwards, gave the puck up inside Moose Jaw's own blueline. Drazenovic used the space available, calmly strode into the mid slot, and his wrist shot found enough space to get between the right arm and body of Warriors netminder Josh Lepp.

The second Drazenovic goal was gift-wrapped by Lepp himself. Drazenovic's initial shot was stopped by Lepp, who finished with 39 stops, but the goaltender decided to swipe it away rather than pounce - and put it right on Drazenovic's stick. With ease, it became 2-1 Cougars.

Drazenovic's line, with Eric Hunter and Colin Patterson riding shotgun, was dominant in the second period, creating something on every shift and playing a possession game that provided the added benefit of keeping the puck away from dangerous Moose Jaw forwards Kenndal McArdle, Brouwer, Riley Holzapfel, Blair Jones and Boyd, the latter the league's goal-scoring leader with 11 after a two-goal performance of his own.

While Drazenovic's goals were integral, it was an energy shift from the makeshift Prince George line of Fred Wikner, Greg Gardner and Blair Stengler - man, does he make the cross-ice pass with authority - that suppressed Moose Jaw's resolve. Gardner was nearly automatic in the faceoff circle all night.

"A lot of that energy was from guys like Myles Zimmer, and we've had guys who have done a good job of stepping up and giving us energy like that when we've really needed it," said Cougars head coach Mike Vandekamp, whose team outshot Moose Jaw, considered the WHL's best offensive team, by a 42-28 margin, including 30-13 through 40 minutes.

"Sometimes it's your unsung heros who step up and have a key shift, like the one after they took their timeout (in the second period). I thought we sat back in the third period a wee bit, and we're not going to be very good at sitting back because that's not going to be our style."

Hunter, with his eighth of the season, and Boyd swapped goals in the third. Hunter, whose goal came during a two-man advantage, continues to lead the WHL in scoring with 19 points, three ahead of Drazenovic and Ashton Rome of Red Deer.

"I'm not worried about that at all, it's just great to be winning," said Drazenovic.

KITTY LITTER: Cougars netminder Scott Bowles made 26 saves for his sixth-consecutive victory... Prince George is home to Saskatoon on Saturday, the Brodsky Bowl - Jack Brodsky, brother of Cougars owner Rick, is the managing partner of the Blades... Scratched by the Cougars on Tuesday were numbers victims Chris Vanduynhoven and Alex Alexandrov, and injured forwards Dan Gendur (thigh) and Levi Brotnov (wrist)... Attendance was 3,008, with a strong walk-up propping that number. People in the building started applauding when the turnstile count was announced - many fans have voiced their disappointment at the low interest from fellow residents... CN Centre management handled rink attendant duties due to the CUPE day of protest in support of the teachers' strike, and the Cougars acknowledged those efforts with a thank-you over the PA system.

Cougar Guy
10-19-2005, 08:18 PM
It was nice to see a healthy lineup at the ticket office for a mid-week game. Announced attendance was 3008, and for this town and being mid-week, thats pretty good

I agree Sput. Given the way that the attendance has slipped over the last few years, I think getting 3,000 out for a Tuesday night game was quite good. If I recall, the last mid-week game was in the 2,500 mark so that is a nice increase. The other bonus is that the "new" fans that came out got to see a GREAT game. Hopefully that will result in continued ticket sales. I'm hoping that we see at least 3,300 - 3,500 on Saturday. Nice steady increases from game to game would be a great improvement for the club.

Although it won't get back to 5,000 overnight, if we can keep attracting a hundered here and a hundred there (and play well enough to KEEP them coming back), I believe that things will start to turn around ths year.