scamperdog
12-17-2005, 08:59 AM
Cats feasting on home cooking www.princegeorgecitizen.com
by JIM SWANSON Citizen Sports Editor
First, it was a Feather of a pass. Then it was a Stone of a shot.
Devin Featherstone, the overage defenceman for the Prince George Cougars, provided the key breakout pass that led to the game-winning goal before adding fireworks in leading the Cats to a crucial 3-0 victory over the Kamloops Blazers at CN Centre on Friday.
Featherstone, his defensive work a main reason the Cougars kept the Blazers to 20 shots on goal, made the first pass that allowed Fred Wikner to spring Colin Patterson on a break in the second period, all the offence the Cougars would need with goaltender Real Cyr keeping the slate clean for his second shutout of the season - both coming against Kamloops.
Then, with 7:19 to play in the middle frame, Featherstone's point shot on a power play - love those composite sticks - shattered a pane of glass behind Kamloops goaltender Mike Maniago. The delay of a dozen minutes that came with the Cougars up 2-0 did nothing to help the Blazers establish momentum.
Featherstone, a guy with 48 points in 244 career games, a gamebreaker? On Friday, he was all that, and a glass-breaker, too. Proof positive his shot can, indeed, break a pane of glass.
"It felt good to get points and help the team win. It's good to get out of the hole we were in," said Featherstone, whose team is 3-0 to start this nine-game homestand.
"We're going forward. This is a big win for us. They're our No. 1 rival and we're close in the standings with them, and it's fun to play them every time because it's a rough, hard battle."
Featherstone said he took some good-natured ribbing from his teammates and from referee Rob Matsuoka after the destructive shot, that left a few fans shaking glass shards from their clothes and hair.
"That's the first time I've done that in my career," laughed Featherstone. "Everyone got into it. I told the ref he should check the net, that the puck went right through it first."
After Patterson got the ball rolling, that oft-missing secondary scoring arrived. Dana Tyrell and Levi Brotnov used their speed to create a turnover, with Brotnov making a quality pass to Kirk Meaver, who beat Kamloops netminder Mike Maniago low.
Patterson added the final goal of the game in the third, marking his first two-goal game of the season.
"Patty's playing better lately, although I'm always telling him I think he can play better some nights," said Cougars head coach Mike Vandekamp.
"I haven't had a problem with Patty. He can take a lot of heat sometimes, but he's doing a lot of other things well. He needs to score to make a solid contribution to our team because that's what he does best."
In what is the WHL's best playoff chase, with two .500-or-better clubs in danger of being punted from the post-season, the Cougars (18-14-0-3) now have a three-point lead over the cellar-dwelling Blazers (18-18-0-0). The B.C. situation is a tough pill for both teams, because Prince George's 39 points would be enough to either hold down a share of first place in the mediocre U.S. Division or be all but guaranteed a playoff spot already in the East or Central.
Andy Rogers returned to the Cougars lineup, but not for the whole game. The 19-year-old defenceman, released by the national junior team earlier in the day, left the game with an apparent ankle injury in the second period, but returned for the third.
Cougars rookie defenceman Chris Vanduynhoven didn't play after the 12 minute mark of the second.
No news is ever good news in Kamloops, it seems - and that continued Friday when the team's top player, goaltender Devan Dubnyk, was kept by the national junior team. That won't help the Blazers, who may end up fuming if Dubnyk spends the next three weeks backing up ex-Cougar Justin Pogge rather than helping Kamloops through a post-Christmas schedule that has them playing seven of eight on the road.
That background explains the frustration of Kamloops GM/coach Dean Clark after Friday's loss.
"I had some things to say," Clark, who fired head coach Mark Ferner last week, said when his dressing room doors opened 25 minutes after the final buzzer.
"You can't get shut out in a hockey game and think you had enough intensity. We have to have a bit of a gut check and get ready to go (tonight). We lost (acting captain and scoring leader) Ashton Rome to a shoulder problem, and we don't know if he'll be able to play yet. But that doesn't mean we can't play hard."
KITTY LITTER: Tonight, the fur will fly - it's Teddy Bear Toss night, a 7:30 start with the same clubs on the ice. Might there finally be a decent crowd at CN Centre? The average through 16 home dates is 3,030, including last night's 2,716 total. Factored in this season's sum are the three lowest turnstile counts since the Coliseum was vacated - 2,663 last Sunday, 2,559 on Oct. 13, and the all-time low of 2,512 on Wednesday...The Cougars won all three of those games, by a combined score of 14-3. Maybe big crowds aren't the motivational factor we all think...Curious to see Prince Albert Raiders general manager Donn Clark, older brother of ex-Leaf Wendel and former Cougars assistant coach Kerry, taking in Friday's game, and not hard to surmise he's taking a long look at players on both Prince George or Kamloops as the Jan. 10 trade deadline approaches. Clark was asked if he was here visiting family: "No, I used to have family here, not any more."... The WHL has a trade freeze from Sunday through Boxing Day... The Cougars will debut 2005 bantam picks Dale Hunt and Matt Belich Dec. 27-28 at CN Centre against Spokane.
©Copyright 2005 Prince George Citizen
by JIM SWANSON Citizen Sports Editor
First, it was a Feather of a pass. Then it was a Stone of a shot.
Devin Featherstone, the overage defenceman for the Prince George Cougars, provided the key breakout pass that led to the game-winning goal before adding fireworks in leading the Cats to a crucial 3-0 victory over the Kamloops Blazers at CN Centre on Friday.
Featherstone, his defensive work a main reason the Cougars kept the Blazers to 20 shots on goal, made the first pass that allowed Fred Wikner to spring Colin Patterson on a break in the second period, all the offence the Cougars would need with goaltender Real Cyr keeping the slate clean for his second shutout of the season - both coming against Kamloops.
Then, with 7:19 to play in the middle frame, Featherstone's point shot on a power play - love those composite sticks - shattered a pane of glass behind Kamloops goaltender Mike Maniago. The delay of a dozen minutes that came with the Cougars up 2-0 did nothing to help the Blazers establish momentum.
Featherstone, a guy with 48 points in 244 career games, a gamebreaker? On Friday, he was all that, and a glass-breaker, too. Proof positive his shot can, indeed, break a pane of glass.
"It felt good to get points and help the team win. It's good to get out of the hole we were in," said Featherstone, whose team is 3-0 to start this nine-game homestand.
"We're going forward. This is a big win for us. They're our No. 1 rival and we're close in the standings with them, and it's fun to play them every time because it's a rough, hard battle."
Featherstone said he took some good-natured ribbing from his teammates and from referee Rob Matsuoka after the destructive shot, that left a few fans shaking glass shards from their clothes and hair.
"That's the first time I've done that in my career," laughed Featherstone. "Everyone got into it. I told the ref he should check the net, that the puck went right through it first."
After Patterson got the ball rolling, that oft-missing secondary scoring arrived. Dana Tyrell and Levi Brotnov used their speed to create a turnover, with Brotnov making a quality pass to Kirk Meaver, who beat Kamloops netminder Mike Maniago low.
Patterson added the final goal of the game in the third, marking his first two-goal game of the season.
"Patty's playing better lately, although I'm always telling him I think he can play better some nights," said Cougars head coach Mike Vandekamp.
"I haven't had a problem with Patty. He can take a lot of heat sometimes, but he's doing a lot of other things well. He needs to score to make a solid contribution to our team because that's what he does best."
In what is the WHL's best playoff chase, with two .500-or-better clubs in danger of being punted from the post-season, the Cougars (18-14-0-3) now have a three-point lead over the cellar-dwelling Blazers (18-18-0-0). The B.C. situation is a tough pill for both teams, because Prince George's 39 points would be enough to either hold down a share of first place in the mediocre U.S. Division or be all but guaranteed a playoff spot already in the East or Central.
Andy Rogers returned to the Cougars lineup, but not for the whole game. The 19-year-old defenceman, released by the national junior team earlier in the day, left the game with an apparent ankle injury in the second period, but returned for the third.
Cougars rookie defenceman Chris Vanduynhoven didn't play after the 12 minute mark of the second.
No news is ever good news in Kamloops, it seems - and that continued Friday when the team's top player, goaltender Devan Dubnyk, was kept by the national junior team. That won't help the Blazers, who may end up fuming if Dubnyk spends the next three weeks backing up ex-Cougar Justin Pogge rather than helping Kamloops through a post-Christmas schedule that has them playing seven of eight on the road.
That background explains the frustration of Kamloops GM/coach Dean Clark after Friday's loss.
"I had some things to say," Clark, who fired head coach Mark Ferner last week, said when his dressing room doors opened 25 minutes after the final buzzer.
"You can't get shut out in a hockey game and think you had enough intensity. We have to have a bit of a gut check and get ready to go (tonight). We lost (acting captain and scoring leader) Ashton Rome to a shoulder problem, and we don't know if he'll be able to play yet. But that doesn't mean we can't play hard."
KITTY LITTER: Tonight, the fur will fly - it's Teddy Bear Toss night, a 7:30 start with the same clubs on the ice. Might there finally be a decent crowd at CN Centre? The average through 16 home dates is 3,030, including last night's 2,716 total. Factored in this season's sum are the three lowest turnstile counts since the Coliseum was vacated - 2,663 last Sunday, 2,559 on Oct. 13, and the all-time low of 2,512 on Wednesday...The Cougars won all three of those games, by a combined score of 14-3. Maybe big crowds aren't the motivational factor we all think...Curious to see Prince Albert Raiders general manager Donn Clark, older brother of ex-Leaf Wendel and former Cougars assistant coach Kerry, taking in Friday's game, and not hard to surmise he's taking a long look at players on both Prince George or Kamloops as the Jan. 10 trade deadline approaches. Clark was asked if he was here visiting family: "No, I used to have family here, not any more."... The WHL has a trade freeze from Sunday through Boxing Day... The Cougars will debut 2005 bantam picks Dale Hunt and Matt Belich Dec. 27-28 at CN Centre against Spokane.
©Copyright 2005 Prince George Citizen