Cougars Wrap Up February With Loss to Portland
The Prince George Cougars wrapped up their February schedule with a 6-1 loss to the Portland Winterhawks at home. Ty Rattie and Brendan Leipsic each scored twice for the Winterhawks while Chase Witala had the Cougars lone response offensively.
Portland wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard as Oliver Bjorkstrand potted his 28th off a three-on-two rush. Bjorkstrand’s goal came just 23 seconds into the game, and Portland had a 1-0 lead.
Brendan Leipsic would then strike twice in a 3:05 span (both on the power play) to give Portland a 3-0 lead before the eight minute mark of the first. Leipsic would lead all Winterhawks with two goals and an assist when all was said and done.
From there, the Cougars seemed to settle down. They held the Winterhawks without a shot on goal for the remainder of the period, and ended up outshooting them 13-10 through 20 minutes.
5:04 into the second period Preston Kopeck made it 4-0 for Portland when he beat Mac Engel on a wrap-around attempt. Ty Rattie then increased the lead to 5-0 with a breakaway goal at 15:50.
The Prince George Cougars ended Mac Carruth’s shutout bid in the final minute of the second period when Chase Witala knocked home a pass from Colin Jacobs from in front of the goal. Witala’s 15th of the season was scored on the power play to make it a 5-1 game.
Ty Rattie scored the game’s final goal at 5:08 of the third period to make the final score 6-1.
Prince George would outshoot the Winterhawks 33-31 on the night. Portland finished the game two-for-five on the power play while the Cougars were one-for-five on their power play chances.
Brett Zarowny and Mac Engel each saw some time in the Cougars goal, with Zarowny stopping seven of the 10 shots he faced, while Engel made 18 saves on 21 shots. At the other end, Mac Carruth stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced and was named the game’s third star.
The Cougars (18-36-2-6) loss coupled with Everett’s win in Seattle means that the Cougars now trial eighth place in the West by five points with 10 games remaining.
Next up, the Kamloops Blazers on Friday night at the CN Centre.
Comments
Quoting David Byrne of the Talking Heads….
“Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.”
When is Brodsky and Company going to come out of the ether and sell the club to someone who CAN and WANTS to own a sucessfull WHL team. Look in the mirrior. You guys are the only problem, period.
Whats with the attendance figures.
Fridays game shows 1773 fans
Saturdays game shows 2779 fans
This is an increase of over 1000 fans and would be the highest turn-out this year with the exception of the opening game, 4238, and the Teddy Bear Toss 4029.
Is this a misprint?? How do we explain this anomaly??
the attendance difference was probably due to a “two for one” ticket deal for the saturday game
So maybe that’s the solution. Have all games as a *two for one*.
Oops, that wont work, because the revenue would stay the same.
I guess we will see if the strategy works when we see the numbers for the next game.
The 2 for 1 ticket deal was to fill seats for the CBC, who was in town filming a segment for “Marketplace”.
Discounting and giving tickets away is not the answer to solving the attendance issues. As a matter of fact, it is a dangerous thing to do, because it establishes a mindset where people think they should get in the building for a discount or free.
None of the gimmicks that they have tried so far have worked.
How’s the beer sales going???
I don’t think that this franchise will ever bounce back, even with a new owner and manager. The problem is, is that there is not a sufficient fan base to cover all the bases.
ie; Spruce Kings, NHL Games, Cougars Games. People get too much hockey, and then decide to sit home and watch it on TV (or not).
There was no increase in attendance when the NHL was on strike so this should tell us something.
The only ‘gimmick’ that will work is to field a winning team. That requires a GM who understands the game and is willing to go out and recruit the necessary people.
I have to wonder why Forsberg is being allowed to play in Saskatchewan after quitting on the Cougars? Does he not have a contract with the Cougars?
Axman, he can’t play in the WHL for any other team, but he can play in Saskatchewan. Different leagues, different agreements.
It doesn’t matter, Forsberg was a bust, anyway. Other WHL teams don’t even want to take a chance on him by getting him in a trade.
Palopu: “ie; Spruce Kings, NHL Games, Cougars Games. People get too much hockey, and then decide to sit home and watch it on TV (or not).”
It’s got nothing to do with that. People in this town got tired of supporting a losing team year after year. And the losing culture is a vicious circle because nobody with any skill wants to play here.
Even if they got rid of Dallas Thompson tomorrow, it wouldn’t help the team in the short term at least.
As mentioned, the only thing that will bring fans back is to put a better (and more consistent) product on the ice. Period.
Getting rid of the GM and/or Brodsky selling the team is only the start the team needs. It will take a few years of new management to convince decent players to want to play here.
Before I moved away, I was an avid Cougars fan and went to as many games as I could afford. When I asked people I knew why they didn’t go anymore, a number of responses included they they didn’t want to line the pockets of Brodsky any longer, who basically thumbs his nose at the people (fans) of Prince George.
The Prince George Cougars are nothing more than a way to keep Brodsky’s daughter and son-in-law employed, both of which wouldn’t have a hope-in-hell of getting the jobs they have now anywhere else.
I miss watching the Cougars. I would rather chew broken glass than ever watch the Vancouver Giants…. unless PG is in town! :-)
Pylot: “The Prince George Cougars are nothing more than a way to keep Brodsky’s daughter and son-in-law employed, both of which wouldn’t have a hope-in-hell of getting the jobs they have now anywhere else.”
I actually think Brandi does a good job, considering the team is a disaster.
I too was a season ticket holder for many years, starting when they first arrived. Like many others, I grew tired of watching the same story year after year.
I understand that in the WHL, teams are supposed to go though high and low cycles. But with the Cougars, it is always a perpetually low cycle, or ‘rebuilding year’.
For me, it was never about Rick Brodsky, it was about the team and how they could never seem to find any level of success.
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