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scamperdog
10-21-2006, 09:11 AM
Cats falter in third again


by JASON PETERS Citizen staff www.princegeorgecitizen.com

The Prince George Cougars had a chance to win the game by winning the third period. They failed in both respects Friday night against the Tri-City Americans.

The Cougars and Americans, playing in Kennewick, Wash., entered the final period tied 2-2. Two unanswered goals by Tri-City’s Shaun Vey gave the Ams a 4-2 victory. Vey’s winning goal, at 2:56 of the third period, came on an innocent-looking shot from the blueline. His insurance marker was set up by a nice pass from Ladislav Scurko. Both goals came against rookie Prince George goaltender Jordan White.

“We didn’t play a real bad hockey game — we were running out of gas for one thing, I guess,” said Cougars head coach Mike Vandekamp. “(This was) the fifth game of six on the road. I guess it starts to take its toll. A soft goal in the third broke our backs. He (White) has got to save that shot. It wasn’t a very good goal there, that was very disappointing.”

In the opening stages of the third period, Tri-City goalie Carey Price made a huge glove save on Jared Walker. Price’s act of theft set the stage for Vey’s goals.

The Cougars could have helped their own cause by showing more life on the power play. In nine chances with the man advantage, they scored just once, a second-period marker by Dana Tyrell.

“You spend so much time talking about the power play,” Vandekamp said. “What the hell do you have to talk about? Get out there and get skating and take charge of the situation. As soon as we did that, our power play got better.”

Walker gave Prince George a 1-0 lead in the first period, scoring on a shorthanded rush with Eric Hunter.

In the second, Tri-City moved into a 2-1 lead on a power-play goal from Michael Kaye and a shorthanded effort from Alex Aldred, who stripped a puck away from Devin Setoguchi.

Price picked up the victory for the Americans and White took the loss. The Ams outshot the Cougars 40-26.

White, despite the soft goal, did his best to keep his team in the game. In the first period, he even stopped Scurko on a penalty shot. Then, in the second, White turned back Jarrett Toll’s breakaway attempt.

The Cougars, who have now lost three in a row, dropped to 4-6-0-2 on the season. The Americans, meanwhile, bumped their record to 8-2-0-0.

Vandekamp wants to see more from some of his high-profile players.

“I thought that the (Brett) Robertson-Setoguchi-Walker line was not very good at all,” he said. “I thought Walks was working hard but I was pretty disappointed in the other two guys. That’s what we just said in the dressing room (after the game) — If you’re not going to show up, then send us a memo beforehand and we won’t give you as much icetime as we did along the way there to try to score on the power play, et cetera.”

The Cougars and Americans are back on the ice tonight in Kennewick. The game marks the end of this six-game road trip for Prince George. In the first five road contests, the Cats are 2-2-0-1.

PGFlyfisher
10-21-2006, 12:02 PM
What the heck is going on with the Cougars?

Have we been mislead with all the pre/early season hype about all the offense the Cougars will have this year?
Or do they just need more time to gel? And when is this going to happen? Will getting Gendur and 3 more healthy blueliners back have a strong impact?

1/6th of the way into the season now, sitting 4th in the division and only 5 teams in the entire league with less points, as well as Goals For!

I am not jumping off the bandwagon just yet, but I am starting to wonder if this is cause for concern or should fans just be patient a little longer?

I' ve done a little math( had some time to kill) and I know that it doesn' t necessarily reflect an accurate account of the future (injuries, scratches, etc.) with 60 games remaining, but the numbers go like this...


Tyrell 5 goals/12 games =0.4167 GPGx60=25 goals
Robertson 4 goals/12 games=0.3333 GPGx60=20 goals
Walker 5 goals/11 games =0.4545 GPGx60=27 goals
Hunter 4 goals/12 games =0.3333 GPGx60=20 goals
Drazenovic 1 goal/8 games =0.125 GPGx60=8 goals
Setoguchi 1 goal/6 games =0.1667 GPGx60=10 goals

Offensive powerhouse?

Should the Cougars organization start considering personnel changes or should we, as fans, not "hit the panic button" just yet and be patient?

What' s everyone' s thoughts?

KBF
10-21-2006, 12:14 PM
It is too early for Cougar fans to bail. But how long have Cougar fans had to wait to have a decent contending team? I rememberr when the Multiplex was sold out every game and the fans were crazy. How does Brodsky repay you guys back for lining his pockets? By bringing in a junior B coach? I'm sorry, Vandencamp needs to go back to Junior B because from what I've seen of him and reading the papers etc, he doesn't seem to be able to get the job done.

Now like I've stated before, having lots of talent doesn't mean anything. Take it from a Blazer fan who has seen more amazing things from his team and more crap than anyone should have to go through. I think guys like Hunter, Setoguchi and Drazenovic are all individuals who only want to pad their stats.

Some Cougar fans got overly excited, some can't admit that right now the Cougars barely look like a playoff team, *cough coogssuperfan cough*.

Aspirations of chasing the Giants are already gone for the Cougars, waay too high of expectations for a group of guys who have had the "loser" tag on them.

Right now the only team the Cougars need to worry about honestly is keeping pace with the Blazers who statistically and work ethic wise have blown the Cougars right outta the water.


So I say, give the Cougars another 10 games and then decided what you wanna do.

Sput
10-21-2006, 12:17 PM
I'm thinking they need to pull their collective heads out of their A$@^s and start working as a team and not a disorganized group of individuals. Maybe pull the letters off some jerseys and give them to the guys that have shown some leadership on the ice. Its almost like they read to much hype about themselves, started believing it, and decided they could just get by on talent alone. Hate to tell ya guys, hard work beats talent every time if talent doesn't work hard. Getting guys like Vandynhuven and Gendur back will make a difference for sure. The jury is still out on Dudas right now simply becasue he's been touted highly, but only played three games total in Cougar colours. Mahalik looks like Chara reincarnate. Big, gangly, seems slow, but covers a pile of ice in his long strides, but still needs to work on putting everything together to complete his 'package'.

Whatever magic elixur Vandy gave the boys last year, hasn't rubbed off on many of them yet this year. Could be pro camp disappointments, getting drafted high, believing the media, who knows. To me its pretty sad when I look more forward to watching the 16 and 17 year olds play than the 19's and 20's, simply because they work harder and create more chances. Our leaders have to set their egos aside and lead.

KBF
10-21-2006, 12:20 PM
I'm not sure what you mean by" magic" from Vandenkamp? As I recall the Cougars went on several ugly losing streaks only to barely squeak in the playoffs and get murdered by the Giants.

PGFlyfisher
10-21-2006, 12:37 PM
You are right. They did have a couple of nasty streaks last season. But they did make the playoffs .;)

Seriously,IMO, Vandy did an incredible job with what he had to work with last season! This year, for whatever reason, he just doesn' t seem to be finding ways to light a fire under the leaders' butts! Like Sput says, the younger players so far have been the main attraction.

Hiring a junior B coach? The old conundrum, No experience at the WHL level, but how does one get experience?

Also, IMO, the ultimate responsibility lies squarely on the GM' s shoulders.

PGFlyfisher
10-21-2006, 12:51 PM
..I'm thinking they need to pull their collective heads out of their A$@^s and start working as a team and not a disorganized group of individuals. Maybe pull the letters off some jerseys and give them to the guys that have shown some leadership on the ice. . .

I' ve tried to bite my tongue, but can' t hold out any longer.
I love to watch Hunter play and would never want to see him in another jersey, but to wear the "C" is questionable. Too many undisciplined penalties.
If I had a say in the matter, Tyrell would be wearing it and at the very least an "A". The kid never takes a shift off!

bones
10-21-2006, 01:20 PM
[QUOTE=KBF] How does Brodsky repay you guys back for lining his pockets? By bringing in a junior B coach? I'm sorry, Vandencamp needs to go back to Junior B because from what I've seen of him and reading the papers etc, he doesn't seem to be able to get the job done.
QUOTE]

Not sure why you keep calling him a junior b coach , but last time I checked, Vandy last coached in the BCHL and the BCHL is Junior A.

Swando
10-22-2006, 12:19 AM
I really think that players have to buy into a coaches philosophy in order to win.. Take the Giants in 04/05..Hay comes in and turns the team around but both Brule and Courchene had their own agendas so to speak. The year sort of fizzled out. Many thot that 05'06 would be a slow year BUT as we all know Giants surprized everyone with thier "TEAM" first approach. Prior to Brule returning they were in first place and Brules' return only made them better...plus he bought into Hay's approach of team first. Check out the team scoring at the end of this year and I think it will be by committee once again..evenly spread out

Sorry for using the Giant's as an example in a Cougar thread but in saying this I agree with those of you who say the Hunter's Walkers Setaguchis are not on the same wave length as their coach...AND I don't think they respect him as he has very little credentials like a Hay, Constantine, Moeliken etc. It's not Vandencamps fault its the players but who takes the fall usually. I am very surprized at the Cats poor start especially who they are losing to!