After Friday’s 3-0 setback in Kamloops, the Prince George Cougars have a quick turnaround. Tonight, for a fifth time this season, the Prince George Cougars will square off with the Kelowna Rockets. The Cougars have struggled in their last two meetings with the Rockets having been shutout twice. The Rockets are a very difficult team to beat at home, and the Cougars are going to have to be ready to battle hard tonight from the drop of the first puck.

Overview:

Heading into tonight’s game, the Kelowna Rockets hold a record of 18-9-1-1.  They are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and are 11 points back of Kamloops in the B.C. Division while holding four games in hand on them.

Who’s Up Front:

Rockets 19-year-old winger Myles Bell is having an incredibly special season in Kelowna. Heading into this weekend, Bell has scored 18 times and leads the Rockets with 43 points in 29 games. Bell can pass, shoot, and skate with the best of them in the WHL, the Cougars must find a way to keep him neutralized if they want to win tonight’s game.

Who’s on D:

2013 NHL draft hopeful Madison Bowey leads all Rockets defencemen with six goals and 14 points. Bowey is also tied for the team lead in plus-minus with a +25 ranking. He is the complete package on the back-end, and could very well hear his name called in the first round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Who’s in Goal:

Regardless of whom the Rockets start in goal, the team seems to find success. Jordan Cooke and Jackson Whistle have both earned shutouts this season against the Cougars, and both have joined forces to create one heck of a goaltending tandem in Kelowna this season.

X-Factor:

The glaring strength of the Kelowna Rockets this season has been their depth. Even when teams can find a way to limit the chances from Myles Bell, and Colton Sissons and Zack Franko, they still have to go up against the likes of Ryan Olsen (15 goals), Dylen McKinlay (26 points) and Rourke Chartier (9 goals). Only two players on the Rockets roster are ‘minus’ players, which shows that all four of their lines can score, and all four of their lines are competent defensively.

Overview:

The Prince George Cougars head into tonight’s game with a 3-5-0-2 record in their past 10 games. Their 10-15-1-2 record is good enough for fourth best in the B.C. Division. They hold the eighth placed playoff spot in the Western Conference with 24 points. So far this season the Cougars are 1-3 against the Rockets.

Who’s Up Front:

In an effort to spark the offense, head coach Dean Clark shuffled his forward lines in the third period of last night’s game in Kelowna. He reunited Jari Erricson with Troy Bourke and Daulton Siwak while putting Alex Forsberg, Ryan Hanes and Carson Bolduc back together as well. The Cougars have shown this season that they have the ability to score four-plus goals per game, and when they do, they tend to win. It is imperative tonight that all four Cougars forwards lines provide some spark and some opportunities.

Who’s on D:

Earlier this week the Cougars learned the 18-year-old Latvian defenceman Rinalds Rosinskis was named to Latvia’s World Junior camp. The 6’5 defenceman won’t wow you with his offense, but Rosinskis has provided Dean Clark with some valuable minutes on the blueline, and has seemed to found a steady role opposite Joseph Carvalho defensively.

Who’s in Goal:

Brett Zarowny has now had three successful starts in a row, which can only help the young goaltender’s confidence moving forward. Last night Zarowny faced 33 shots, and made 30 saves. The fact that he played last night might mean that we’ll see Mac Engel tonight in Kelowna, but right now goaltending is of very little concern to the Prince George Cougars.

X-Factor:

Once again the streaky Cougars power play will be a focal point during a game. In the later stages of November, the Cougars were winning games because of clutch contributions of their power play, and tonight it will be important for them to take advantage of their opportunities when they are presented. The Rockets are a very difficult team to score against five-on-five, so the Cougars will need to bear down on their power play chances. If they can do that successfully, they’ll have a great shot at win number 11 tonight in Kelowna.