After an 11-day break from game action, the Prince George Cougars return to battle tonight against their B.C. Division rivals, the Victoria Royals. Tonight’s game marks the fifth time already this season that these teams will meet, with Victoria holding a 3-1 edge in the season series so far.

Overview:

Heading into the weekend, the Victoria Royals are comfortably in third place in the B.C. Division with a record of 17-14-0-2. Their 36 points gives them an eight-point lead on the Cougars with a game in hand. They are 5-3-0-2 in their last 10 games.

Who’s Up Front:

The Victoria Royals boast a number of forwards who can consistently put the puck in the net. Leading the charge still for Victoria is 20-year-old Russian, Alex Gogolev. Gogolev has 13 goals and 36 points, which leads the team. He is a smooth skater who handles the puck extremely well and always seems to create opportunities for himself and his teammates.

Who’s on D:

Talk about a flair for the dramatic. 18-year-old defenceman Brett Cote leads the Royals defencemen with five goals and 16 points. Two of Cote’s goals have come against the Cougars, and both have been game-winners. When the game is on the line, Cote seems to be able to find a way to contribute, and the Cougars will have to be mindful of that this time around.

Who’s in Goal:

With a record of 14-8-0-2, Patrik Polivka has certainly provided the Royals with some stability between the pipes. After a forgettable performance against the Cougars on November 23^rd, Polivka has bounced back with three straight wins against the Cougars.

X-Factor:

Arguably the greatest strength of the Victoria Royals is their depth up front. With guys like Gogolev, Jamie Crooks, Ben Walker, Steven Hodges, Logan Nelson and Brandon Magee, the Royals are truly never out of a game. It will be important for the Cougars to elevate their game defensively in order to keep these Victoria forwards in check this weekend.

Overview:

The Prince George Cougars enter this weekend with a 12-18-1-3 record, which is good enough for eighth place in the Western Conference standings. Though their 28 points has them tied with Everett, the Cougars hold three games in hand which gives them the coveted eighth spot. The Cougars have won two straight games, and are hoping to inch a little closer to third place with a win tonight.

Who’s Up Front:

The Prince George Cougars are hoping that the holiday break has helped heal some of the remaining injuries that the Cougars have faced in recent weeks. The return of Colin Jacobs and Chase Witala definitely sparked this team offensively before the break, and they’ll need contributions from throughout the lineup again this weekend if they want to win some games. The Cougars will not be able to use Carson Bolduc in any of these games this weekend because he’s with Team Pacific at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

Who’s on D:

Raymond Grewal had an outstanding weekend against the Vancouver Giants before the break, and continues to improve on a game-by-game basis. Grewal scored his first ever WHL goal back on November 24^th in Victoria, and a steady performance from him would only continue to help his confidence and the overall confidence of the team. With Rinalds Rosinskis away in Ufa for the World Juniors, the entire defensive unit will have to make up for his size and aggressiveness.

Who’s in Goal:

The incredible month of December continues for Brett Zarowny who will look to build off of his Award-winning week where he was named Vaughn CHL goaltender of the Week for his efforts. If Zarowny can continue to play the way that he has throughout the first half of December, he’s going to make life awfully frustrating for the Victoria shooters.

X-Factor:

The Cougars have gone four straight games without allowing a power play goal, and in order for the Cougars to rise up in the standings, they will need to continue to improve their special teams in both categories. Their power play and penalty killing percentages are both ranked 20^th in the WHL, and perhaps this is the weekend where things really start to click.