Tonight the Prince George Cougars will turn the page on November, and will get set for a very busy and very telling month of December that will see them play 11 games, nine of which are against B.C. division opponents. Tonight, their first of those nine games, and fourth in a row against the Victoria Royals.

OVERVIEW:

The Victoria Royals head into tonight’s game with an overall record of 14-12-0-1. They are 5-4-0-1 in their last 10 games, and their 29 points gives them a seven point lead over the Prince George Cougars for fourth in the B.C. Division.

WHO’S UP FRONT:

Nobody will be more disappointed to see the month of November end more than Royals 20-year-old forward Alex Gogolev. The 20-year-old from Moscow, Russia added two more points to his November resume last night in Prince George, and finished the month with 13 points in 12 games. Keeping Gogolev off of the score sheet, or at least in check is going to be very important for the Cougars tonight.

WHO’S ON D:

The Victoria Royals appear to have a real ‘keeper’ in 16-year-old Joe Hicketts. So far this season, Hicketts has posted one goal and eight points, and is a +2 heading into tonight’s game. He won’t wow you with his size, but he’s certainly confident at both ends of the ice, and he’s certainly a player that the Royals can be very excited about moving forward.

WHO’S IN GOAL:

The Victoria Royals once again got strong goaltending from 18-year-old import goaltender Patrik Polivka. Polivka faced 30 shots last night, and turned them all away for his second shutout of the season. His record now sits at 11-6-0-1.

X-FACTOR:

The Victoria Royals were given ample power play opportunities during the second period of last night’s game, and it was a five-on-three goal from Jamie Crooks that gave the Royals some insurance. The Royals move the puck around very well, and they have a lot of dangerous offensive players who can strike quickly on the power play if given too many chances.

OVERVIEW:

Dean Clark’s Prince George Cougars head into tonight’s game with a record of 9-13-1-3. They sit seven points back of third place Victoria, and eight points ahead of the Vancouver Giants for fourth place in the B.C. Division. With nine games against B.C. Division foes coming up in December, it’s key for the Cougars to stick with the pack. A win tonight at home against Victoria would give them a split, and some positive momentum heading into Tuesday’s tilt with Moose Jaw.

WHO’S UP FRONT:

With Colin Jacobs status uncertain for tonight’s game, it looks like more of the offensive onus is going to fall onto the shoulders of Alex Forsberg, Jari Erricson, Daulton Siwak, Brett Roulston and Ryan Hanes. Erricson led all Cougars with six points during the month of November, and here’s hoping that a new month can ignite some of the Cougars forwards offensively. They have a lot of capable goal scorers, and tonight they’ll need all hands on deck to produce.

WHO’S ON D:

Normally when a team surrenders only two goals, it should give them a great chance to win. The Cougars defense managed to kill off four of five penalties, and put together a pretty solid outing all things considered. That being said, it’s going to take an equally strong effort, if not a better one tonight to ensure a split with the Royals.

WHO’S IN GOAL:

It will be announced later tonight that goaltender Mac Engel has been voted as the Hubbell Designer Goldsmith’s Player of the Month for November. In 11 November games, Engel dressed in 10 of them, and he earned points in five of those 10 outings. Here’s hoping that the tandem of Mac Engel and Brett Zarowny can continue to give the Cougars some steady success between the pipes.

X-FACTOR:

The normally very disciplined Cougars got away from that identity in last night’s game, and it cost them in the second period. If the Cougars can get back to their aggressive, yet disciplined style tonight, they’re going to make life very difficult on the Royals. Only once this season have the Cougars been swept during a double-header at home, and if they stay disciplined, the Victoria Royals will certainly be in tough tonight.