For the final time this season, the Prince George Cougars and Everett Silvertips will lock horns tonight at the CN Centre. It was a Grade A effort for the Cougars last night, who outshot Everett 42-22 in a losing cause. Tonight the Cougars will hope for a similar effort and a little more puck luck, as their chase for a playoff spot continues.

Overview:

The Everett Silvertips have now earned a point in each of their past five games (4-0-1-0). They are 6-3-1-0 in their last 10 games, and have opened up an 11 point cushion on the Prince George Cougars for seventh place in the Western Conference.

Who’s Up Front:

Last night’s offensive hero for Everett was 18-year-old forward Kohl Bauml. Bauml scored the game’s first and last goals in last night’s contest, and had a couple of other chances to make an impact as well. Bauml has 17 goals which is second on the team behind Joshua Winquist (21).

Who’s on D:

Mirco Mueller logged a ton of minutes for Garry Davidson’s club in last night’s game. He made some big plays both offensively and defensively, and finished the night with two assists in a winning cause for his team. Mueller and his ‘D’ partner Ayrton Nikkel will likely see similar minutes and responsibilities in tonight’s game as well.

Who’s in Goal:

In his past two games, Everett netminder Austin Lotz has faced 111 shots and made 105 saves between the pipes. Confidence plays such a huge part in a young goaltender’s development, and right now it’s likely safe to say that Lotz is brimming with confidence throughout January. That said, Garry Davidson may decide to give Daniel Cotton a chance in goal, given how busy Lotz has been so far this week.

X-Factor:

The Everett Silvetips have already earned a weekend split at the very least with the Cougars, and now the tough part. The Silvertips will need to dig even deeper against a desperate Cougars team who is heading into the ‘must-win’ territory at this junction of the season. We’ll find out quite quickly tonight whether Everett is content with a split, or whether they are unwilling to settle. The first 10 minutes will be a telling tail of the visitors tonight.

Overview:

Mark Holick’s Prince George Cougars provided fans with an exciting, and energetic 60 minute performance in last night’s game. The mistakes were few and far between, but unfortunately the Silvertips were able to capitalize on what very few mistakes were made. The Cougars are 14-28-2-4, and thanks to some Kelowna Rocket overtime heroics, only trail Seattle by six points in the race for eighth with two games still in hand. With Seattle idle this evening, the Cougars must help themselves by winning one of their games in hand tonight.

Who’s Up Front:

Mark Holick shuffled the deck offensively last night, and put forth four different forward lines that all had their moments of success in last night’s game. Colin Jacobs, Jari Erricson and Klarc Wilson looked very good together, as did Troy Bourke, Chase Witala and Zach Pochiro. The Cougars can’t rely on just one group of forwards tonight. They’ll need production from at least two or three different lines tonight if they want to walk out of this weekend with a split.

Who’s on D:

Rinalds Rosinskis scored his first ever WHL goal in last night’s game, and was finally rewarded with some offensive success after being a reliable soldier defensively throughout the season. Lately the Cougars have been getting a ton of production from the back-end, and with Dan Gibb, Dallas Ehrhardt and now Rinalds Rosinskis all providing some offense, it bodes extremely well for this young Cougars squad moving forward.

Who’s in Goal:

Brett Zarowny stopped 19 of the 22 shots he faced in last night’s game in a losing cause for the Cougars. Does Brett Zarowny get the chance for redemption tonight? Or will the coaching staff decide to go with Mac Engel, who has plenty of experience against Everett from his time in Spokane. Either goaltender gives the Cougars a great chance to win, and either goaltender will need to be at least equal to their counterpart at the other side tonight.

X-Factor:

The Prince George Cougars power play finished zero-for-five last night, and was unable to capitalize on a late five-on-three opportunity in the final minutes. The power play had a few different looks last night, and came close on a number of occasions. Tonight the Cougars power play might need to dig a little deeper and provide a spark to this group offensively. If the Cougars can start taking advantage of their power play chances, the goals are going to start coming in bunches for this group.