Prince George at Victoria 31 Jan and 01 Feb

[CdnSailor]

at

Victoria may gain a few points these next two games to hold on to 8th spot in the Western Division.
Prince George on paper seem to have the same calibre as Victoria. They have now dropped to 10th position in the west, 1 point behind Everett and has 3 games in hand.
The Cougars are currently 2 and 8 while the Royals are 3 and 7 past 10.

Victoria has played the Courgars twice this season winning both.
They now play each other 6 times in the month of February, 4 in Victoria and 2 in Prince George.

Victoria Royals 50 16 29 2 3 37 PTS 0-1-0-0 STK 3-6-0-1 P10 845 PIM

Prince George Cougars 48 15 31 0 2 32 PTS 0-5-0-0 STK 2-8-0-0 P10 855 PIM

[IR_Hockey]

They now play each other 6 times in the month of February, 4 in Victoria and 2 in Prince George.

They play once in January, and five times in February.

[CdnSailor]

They play once in January, and five times in February.

What ever.....................

[CdnSailor]

They play once in January, and five times in February.

Semantics.............

[fatshad]

They play once in January, and five times in February.

I read on Island Royalty that you would use someone other than Crooks on the point on the PP !! Can I ask you with this defense who on earth that might be ?

[IR_Hockey]

I read on Island Royalty that you would use someone other than Crooks on the point on the PP !! Can I ask you with this defense who on earth that might be ?

Well, since you asked, I was thinking Logan Nelson might be a better fit on the point. He seems to be more creative with the puck than Crooks, and has equal if not better speed. I like Crooks, I just find that when they stick him on that left point he can be very ineffective at times. I think Crooks would be better suited coming off the half boards, similar to what Kevin Sundher did on the power play.

Thanks for reading my site

[fatshad]

Well, since you asked, I was thinking Logan Nelson might be a better fit on the point. He seems to be more creative with the puck than Crooks, and has equal if not better speed. I like Crooks, I just find that when they stick him on that left point he can be very ineffective at times. I think Crooks would be better suited coming off the half boards, similar to what Kevin Sundher did on the power play.

Thanks for reading my site

I can see your point , as long as both Crooks and Nelson are both on the PP unit as they both have offensive skills !! I just dont see another dman that fits the bill , and even Rintoul is questionable at times back there !!
Go Royals Go !! We need some playoff action to benefit all the young guys this year !!

[pontcanna]

After 18 years, Brodsky's Cougars are back

BY CLEVE DHEENSAW, TIMESCOLONIST.COM JANUARY 30, 2012 11:07 PM

Time is said to heal wounds.

Sometimes.

Baltimore now has the Ravens and New Orleans the Hornets, but some older sports fans in those cities still feel a sense of resentment when they see their former beloved Colts and Jazz nicknames on teams in Indianapolis and Utah.

So what will be the reaction of old-school Victoria hockey fans when the Prince George Cougars, who skated as the Victoria Cougars for 23 seasons from 1971-72 to 1993-94, return to the franchise’s original city for the first time during a two-game Western Hockey League set tonight and Wednesday at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre?

Victoria had been out of the WHL since the Cougars departure and until the Chilliwack Bruins became the Victoria Royals this season.

“I know there are a few people in Victoria with hard feelings but I wish they would have bought tickets when I was running the team there,” said Rick Brodsky, the man who moved the franchise and who still owns the Cougars.

The Victoria Cougars had become dismal on the ice and even more so in attendance at the old Memorial Arena, while Prince George beckoned with a new rink. Yet, it was not so much the moving of the franchise that irked Victoria fans, but the loss of the traditional nickname for Victoria hockey. The Cougars name is deeply embedded in this city’s lore, as attested by the 1925 Stanley Cup banner hanging from the rafters of the Memorial Centre.

After losing pro teams, Cleveland got to come back with Browns and Winnipeg with Jets. And in the WHL, Edmonton with Oil Kings. But not Victoria with Cougars because it was already in use in the WHL.

Brodsky said it is “silly” to revisit the Cougars name controversy after so many years have passed.

The Cougars era in Victoria, however, might as well be from Roman times for the current Cougars and Royals players. They either weren’t born or were not yet three years old when the team left the Island.

This will also mean little to people who have moved to the capital since 1994. It’s also ancient history as far as Cougars brass is concerned.

“I can tell you that nobody in our organization now was with me in Victoria,” said Brodsky, who is not coming to Victoria to watch the games.

“As far as I’m concerned, this set is only about two teams fighting for a playoff spot, although I can’t say if people in Victoria feel the way I do. For me, this is just a game we want to win.”

The backstory also means little to the Royals.

“It doesn’t affect us,” said Royals GM and head coach Marc Habscheid, who played against the Victoria Cougars as a member of the Saskatoon Blades.

History, however, appears to be eerily repeating itself as Brodsky’s Cougars seem to be replaying their latter Victoria days — this time in Prince George.

“We’re struggling on the ice and at the gate,” admitted Brodsky, whose club announced a typically sparse crowd of only 1,807 for Saturday’s key home game against the Everett Silvertips.

“We went through a soul-searching time three years ago. There have been a few setbacks. But we need to be patient.”

The Cougars, Royals, Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds are in a pitched battle for the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference.

“Every game is important,” said Cougars GM Dallas Thompson, who is also Brodsky’s son-in-law.

“The goal is to get in the playoffs. We play Victoria six times within a month. Those games will be very important and telling in the end. We’re very banged up but still have enough leadership and veterans here. We can’t use it as an excuse.”

So there will be no excuses. Only a two-game set that, at least for some of a certain vintage, is loaded with historical baggage.

[pontcanna]

The Blogmeister got it right on Twitter when he commented that he's seen blowout games in which the Royals tried harder.

What a steaming heap of blah. That said, I think the game was there for the taking early in the second, right after we took the lead, but that was about the last decent playing from the Royals for the rest of the night. Knowing what was on the line, not showing up for most of the game was inexcusable. I think all three stars should have been PG. Never an ounce of tension in the third period.

The drama and effort of early season home games seems a very long time ago indeed and that has nothing to do with the absence of Sundher. We have lots of guys who've shown spark, physical play and scoring touch (way more scoring than the Cats manage) but none of that was evident. I was bored rigid for most of the evening and I suspect that paint was peeling off the walls of the dressing room after the buzzer. Wish I could have heard all the post game analysis, hopefully the interviews will be on the Zone website. Basically I want to hear what they have to say for themselves.

[pontcanna]

Cougars return to claw Royals

BY CLEVE DHEENSAW, TIMESCOLONIST.COM JANUARY 31, 2012 10:26 PM

The Cougars of the Western Hockey League returned to Blanshard Street on Tuesday. But not in the same fashion in which they left 18 years ago.

This time, they actually won.

The Prince George Cougars, who skated as the Victoria Cougars for 23 seasons from 1971-72 to 1993-94, returned to the franchise’s original city for the first time since then with a 4-2 victory against the Victoria Royals.

It was the 500th victory for the franchise since relocating to Prince George. That it occurred in Victoria was a delicious and fitting bit of ironic icing on the cake. Overall, including the Victoria years, it was the franchise’s 1,182nd victory.

But in Victoria eyes, it wasn’t pretty.

“That was one of our worst games of the year,” said Royals GM and head coach Marc Habscheid, whose club relocated to the capital this season from Chilliwack.

“Effort-wise, it was terrible. The effort was not there and that’s very disappointing in a big game like that.”

The Cougars featured the likes of Grant Fuhr, Barrie Pederson, Mark Morrison, Gary Lupul, Curt Fraser and the Courtnall brothers during happier days in their two-decade-plus run at the old Memorial Arena. But the latter years were filled with monumental losing seasons and an ever-decreasing number of bodies in the stands.

But that’s ancient history to the current Cougars and Royals players, some of whom weren’t even born when the club left the capital for Prince George.

For them, the game was important as more than just an historical footnote. The Royals and Cougars, along with the Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds, are aiming to land the final two playoff berths in the Western Conference.

The result left eighth-place Victoria three points ahead of ninth-place Prince George although the Cougars retain two games in hand. Victoria is four points up on 10th-place Everett.

A helping hand was given by the Spokane Chiefs, who defeated Seattle 5-3 Tuesday night. The seventh-place Thunderbirds lead Victoria by one point but with two games in hand.

“We have to take every game like the Stanley Cup final. And tonight we didn’t,” said Victoria forward Brandon Magee, who scored for the Royals.

Reid Jackson, at 14:36 of the first period, scored the first Cougars goal on Blanshard Street in 18 years. Jamie Crooks tied it for the Royals at 17:36 when he batted the puck out of the air for his 26th goal of the season. Victoria took the lead when Magee scored his 16th of the season at 1:25 of the second period.

Veteran Cougars forward Greg Fraser of Nanaimo, who with Cody Carlson of Victoria is one of two Islanders on the Cougars, pulled Prince George level at 7:24 with his 13th goal of the season.

Both Islanders were deservedly named among the game’s three stars with Magee.

Daulton Siwak put Prince George into the lead at 15:16.

The six-foot-two rearguard Ricard Blidstrand, an import from Sweden and the Cougars’ lone drafted player on the roster (taken in the seventh round by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010), made it 4-2 at 9:23 of the third period.

Keith Hamilton finished with 30 saves for Victoria and Drew Owsley the same number for the Cougars.

What made the victory even more impressive for Prince George, is that the Cougars arrived on the Island a beat-up team and dressed three affiliated players on call-up.

“A win like that is good for our confidence,” said Cougars head coach Dean Clark.