After splitting their two meetings last weekend in Victoria, the Prince George Cougars and Victoria Royals will go at twice more, only this time the games are in Prince George. Both games last weekend were one-goal games, and we could very-well be in for two more close ones this weekend at the CN Centre.

Overview:

Dave Lowry’s Victoria Royals come into action tonight with a 13-12-0-1 record. Their 27 points puts them five ahead of the Prince George Cougars for third in the B.C. Division. Victoria is 4-8 on the road so far this season.

Who’s Up Front:

20-year-old forward Alex Gogolev is having an incredible month of November. The product of Moscow, Russia has notched a point in 10 straight games, and has 11 points through 11 games in November. Gogolev is one of several forwards on Victoria’s roster who the Cougars will need to be aware of this weekend.

Who’s on D:

Defenceman Brett Cote scored the game-winner last Saturday when the Royals beat Prince George 3-2. Cote leads all Royals blueliners with 12 points in 26 games, and his three goals are tied for tops on the team for defencemen along with Tyler Stahl.

Who’s in Goal:

After he was pulled during Friday’s 5-4 loss to the Cougars, Patrik Polivka bounced back on Saturday and had a great game. He stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced, and made several key saves early in the third to keep the game tied at two.  Polivka’s last outing was a 4-3 shootout loss at home on Tuesday night to Moose Jaw. His backup is Coleman Vollrath who saw some action Friday against Prince George in the second half.

X-Factor:

Ben Walker was a major thorn on the Cougars side this past weekend in Victoria. Walker scored twice during Saturday’s 3-2 win for Victoria, and could have had at least one more had it not been for Brett Zarowny stopping him on a penalty shot. The 19-year-old Walker combines speed, smarts, and skill on a nightly basis, and has also shown that he’s very defensively responsible. His +16 rating is by far the best on the Royals.

Overview:

Heading into the weekend, the Prince George Cougars are 9-12-1-3 and are currently ranked fourth in the B.C. Division and eighth in the Western Conference. The Cougars have recorded points in four of their past six games, and have played well for a large part of November.

Who’s Up Front:

Heading into tonight’s game, the Prince George Cougars have four forwards: Jarrett Fontaine, Jari Erricson,  Brett Roulston and Ryan Hanes who have all scored three times this month. Secondary scoring has vastly improved as of late for the Cougars, and once again it is going to take a complete effort from all hands on deck to supply enough offense this weekend. If the Cougars can get contributions from more than just one line, they will put themselves into a great position to win.

Who’s on D:

Raymond Grewal notched his first ever goal in the WHL on Saturday night, and has continued to provide Dean Clark with some very valuable minutes in his rookie season. Grewal’s confidence continues to climb, and he and defence-partner Dallas Ehrhardt will likely see a lot of ice against the likes of Alex Gogolev, Ben Walker and Jamie Crooks.

Who’s in Goal:

Having not started since November 9^th, Brett Zarowny was excellent for the Cougars last Saturday in Victoria. Zarowny stopped 25 of the 28 shots he faced, and certainly did what he could to lead his team to victory. Mac Engel could be put back in the goal on Friday since he’s won his last two starts, but both goaltenders have shown lately and throughout the entire season that they are very capable of winning games.

X-Factor:

With power play goals in each of their past four games, it marks the longest streak of the season for the Cougars in that regard. Special teams will continue to be a major factor this weekend, and if the Cougars can continue to find success on the power play, it will only help their chances at victory.