Sput
09-11-2006, 10:14 PM
Monday, September 11, 2006
Three-win weekend for Cougars
by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
If you’re an optimist, it’s a positive omen.
If you’re a junior hockey cynic — and Prince George is full of those — it’s just another cruel tease.
The Prince George Cougars finished a perfect first exhibition weekend with three wins in as many starts, completing the sweep on Sunday with a 5-1 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders.
A night earlier at the Saskatoon pre-season ice-breaker, the Cougars pounded the host Blades 5-2, that coming on the heels of Friday’s 4-1 victory over the Regina Pats.
Not bad — wins, better than losses. But the Cougars, it has to be noted, won all three games in Saskatoon last September, then had to battle down the stretch just to make the playoffs. A year earlier, the Cats were 2-0-1 — that’s a combined 8-0-1 in three years at the Blades tournament — but missed the playoffs.
“We won the games, and obviously that’s a positive, but the thing is that we learned lots,” said Cougars head coach Mike Vandekamp, whose team plays host to the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday (7 p.m.), the only exhibition action at CN Centre this fall.
“Games don’t mean a lot right now, so no one should be getting too far ahead of themselves.
“We’re a lot further ahead as a team, even from where we were Friday night. We learned a lot more about our guys this weekend, and it was a good chance for some of the young guys to show their stuff before we start getting guys back from NHL camps.”
The Cougars were like the other three teams in Saskatoon, without go-to players who are currently at NHL training camps. Suffice it to say the rosters of all teams will be different the next time they meet — with standings points at stake.
As the bus chugged west, the coach’s biggest concern was the amount of time spent shorthanded — 44 times in three games. The Cougars surrendered more power plays than their opponents in all three outings.
“We got somewhere with that a little bit, and we have three more exhibition games that we’re going to have to use to make more adjustments,” said Vandekamp, whose penalty-killers worked at a 93 per cent efficiency.
“We took more penalties than any other team there... our goal right now is to get better in that area. We were better (Sunday). The first game, we hadn’t even had our meeting with league officials yet, so in our players’ defence they hadn’t had an opportunity to hear exactly how it was going to work. In the second game, we should’ve been better, but we weren’t. The players have to learn, but it’s also about the officials finding the consistency they’ll need. It’s an adjustment for everyone.”
Vandekamp and the Cougars met with WHL officials on Saturday morning.
Vandekamp is not about to start suggesting a parade route, but he did like a lot of things he saw on the weekend. For starters, sop****res Dana Tyrell and Prab Rai both had two-goal games, with Rai, soon to turn 17, compiling two points in each of the three games.
Tyrell scored twice short-handed in the third period of Sunday’s game to give the Cougars all the breathing room they’d need. To end the weekend, he also worked at a two-points-per-game pace, with four in the last two games.
“The brightest light was Prab, and it’s always important when a younger guy who is an offensive-type player starts to find the net a little bit,” said Vandekamp.
“It really adds to the confidence, and these new rules should really help a guy like him. Dana, he was just himself, working like a dog and using his speed as an asset. All three goaltenders were excellent, and a couple of our older forwards, Jared Walker and Brett Robertson, carried themselves well.”
Real Cyr got the win in Saturday’s game, stopping 37 shots, while rookie Jordan White was impressive in his first WHL outing, blocking 26 of 27 offerings by the Raiders. Scott Bowles was the winner in Friday’s game.
Rookies Randall Groot, Dale Hunt, Michael Iorio and Tyrell, with his pair, scored for the Cougars on Sunday. On Saturday, the scoring was handled by five different players — Hunt, Tyrell, rookie import Patrik Vrana, Kalvin Sagert and 15-year-old Ryan Kowalski, who was seeing his first game action.
n None of the six players at NHL camps — Eric Hunter (Rangers), Evan Fuller (Canucks), Jesse Dudas (Blue Jackets), Vladimir Mihalik (Lightning), Nick Drazenovic (Blues) and Ty Wishart (Sharks) — are expected back for Wednesday’s game with Kamloops. Drazenovic scored a goal for St. Louis in a 5-2 Friday loss to Dallas at the rookie tournament in Traverse City, Michigan.
The only injury concern for the Cats in Saskatoon is a minor one. Greg Gardner has a leg bruise from blocking a shot, and Vandekamp said he should be able to play. The Cougars will take today off and resume practice on Tuesday. No cuts are expected before the weekend, when the team heads south for games in Kamloops and Kelowna.
“We have to wait for guys to come back before we start making more moves, because we’re tight on numbers,” said Vandekamp.
Three-win weekend for Cougars
by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
If you’re an optimist, it’s a positive omen.
If you’re a junior hockey cynic — and Prince George is full of those — it’s just another cruel tease.
The Prince George Cougars finished a perfect first exhibition weekend with three wins in as many starts, completing the sweep on Sunday with a 5-1 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders.
A night earlier at the Saskatoon pre-season ice-breaker, the Cougars pounded the host Blades 5-2, that coming on the heels of Friday’s 4-1 victory over the Regina Pats.
Not bad — wins, better than losses. But the Cougars, it has to be noted, won all three games in Saskatoon last September, then had to battle down the stretch just to make the playoffs. A year earlier, the Cats were 2-0-1 — that’s a combined 8-0-1 in three years at the Blades tournament — but missed the playoffs.
“We won the games, and obviously that’s a positive, but the thing is that we learned lots,” said Cougars head coach Mike Vandekamp, whose team plays host to the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday (7 p.m.), the only exhibition action at CN Centre this fall.
“Games don’t mean a lot right now, so no one should be getting too far ahead of themselves.
“We’re a lot further ahead as a team, even from where we were Friday night. We learned a lot more about our guys this weekend, and it was a good chance for some of the young guys to show their stuff before we start getting guys back from NHL camps.”
The Cougars were like the other three teams in Saskatoon, without go-to players who are currently at NHL training camps. Suffice it to say the rosters of all teams will be different the next time they meet — with standings points at stake.
As the bus chugged west, the coach’s biggest concern was the amount of time spent shorthanded — 44 times in three games. The Cougars surrendered more power plays than their opponents in all three outings.
“We got somewhere with that a little bit, and we have three more exhibition games that we’re going to have to use to make more adjustments,” said Vandekamp, whose penalty-killers worked at a 93 per cent efficiency.
“We took more penalties than any other team there... our goal right now is to get better in that area. We were better (Sunday). The first game, we hadn’t even had our meeting with league officials yet, so in our players’ defence they hadn’t had an opportunity to hear exactly how it was going to work. In the second game, we should’ve been better, but we weren’t. The players have to learn, but it’s also about the officials finding the consistency they’ll need. It’s an adjustment for everyone.”
Vandekamp and the Cougars met with WHL officials on Saturday morning.
Vandekamp is not about to start suggesting a parade route, but he did like a lot of things he saw on the weekend. For starters, sop****res Dana Tyrell and Prab Rai both had two-goal games, with Rai, soon to turn 17, compiling two points in each of the three games.
Tyrell scored twice short-handed in the third period of Sunday’s game to give the Cougars all the breathing room they’d need. To end the weekend, he also worked at a two-points-per-game pace, with four in the last two games.
“The brightest light was Prab, and it’s always important when a younger guy who is an offensive-type player starts to find the net a little bit,” said Vandekamp.
“It really adds to the confidence, and these new rules should really help a guy like him. Dana, he was just himself, working like a dog and using his speed as an asset. All three goaltenders were excellent, and a couple of our older forwards, Jared Walker and Brett Robertson, carried themselves well.”
Real Cyr got the win in Saturday’s game, stopping 37 shots, while rookie Jordan White was impressive in his first WHL outing, blocking 26 of 27 offerings by the Raiders. Scott Bowles was the winner in Friday’s game.
Rookies Randall Groot, Dale Hunt, Michael Iorio and Tyrell, with his pair, scored for the Cougars on Sunday. On Saturday, the scoring was handled by five different players — Hunt, Tyrell, rookie import Patrik Vrana, Kalvin Sagert and 15-year-old Ryan Kowalski, who was seeing his first game action.
n None of the six players at NHL camps — Eric Hunter (Rangers), Evan Fuller (Canucks), Jesse Dudas (Blue Jackets), Vladimir Mihalik (Lightning), Nick Drazenovic (Blues) and Ty Wishart (Sharks) — are expected back for Wednesday’s game with Kamloops. Drazenovic scored a goal for St. Louis in a 5-2 Friday loss to Dallas at the rookie tournament in Traverse City, Michigan.
The only injury concern for the Cats in Saskatoon is a minor one. Greg Gardner has a leg bruise from blocking a shot, and Vandekamp said he should be able to play. The Cougars will take today off and resume practice on Tuesday. No cuts are expected before the weekend, when the team heads south for games in Kamloops and Kelowna.
“We have to wait for guys to come back before we start making more moves, because we’re tight on numbers,” said Vandekamp.