Cougars Crown the Oil Kings 5-1.
Friday night in Prince George, the Cougars earned their third consecutive preseason victory defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings by a 5-1 score in a penalty-filled game. Jansen Harkins led the way with three assists, while Brett Roulston, Brad Morrison, and Raymond Grewal all had two points. Brett Zarowny turned aside 20 of the 21 shots he faced for his second victory of the preseason.
The home team drew first blood at 6:19 of the first period. Raymond Grewal, Alex Forsberg and Brad Morrison combined on a fancy tic-tac-toe passing play on a four-on-three power play to give the Cougars the 1-0 lead.
Edmonton responded with some quality chances, but defensively the Cougars held their ground. Raymond Grewal broke up a number of Oil Kings rushes, and Brett Zarowny turned aside all eight Oil Kings shots in the first period.
Brett Roulston made it 2-0 for the Cougars at the 3:21 mark of the second period. Brad Morrison made an excellent play at the blueline to create the rush, and Brett Roulston finished it off. Jansen Harkins added an assist.
Both teams had a number of quality chances, but Brett Zarowny and Patrick Dea both did a good job of keeping their team close. At the end of 40 minutes Prince George led 2-0 and had a 28-15 edge in the shots department.
Powerplays would rule the third period, and fortunately for the Cougars they were able to capitalize on their chances.
Chase Witala made it 3-0 for the Cougars when he one-timed home a pass from Joseph Carvalho. Jansen Harkins had the second assist.
Immediately following the third Cougars goal, Brad Morrison dropped the gloves with Mitchell Walter. Both players were ejected from the game, but that fight gave Brad Morrison the Gordie Howe hat trick.
Just over four minutes later, Brett Roulston buried his second of the game to increase the Cougars lead to 4-0. Both Raymond Grewal and Jansen Harkins assisted Roulston’s marker.
Late in the game tempers got the best of both teams as countless roughing and stick penalties were handed out to both teams. Each team finished the game with 11 power plays and combined for 110 penalty minutes.
Brett Zarowny’s shutout bid came to an end at 14:45 of the third when Cole Benson converted a Mads Eller rebound for his second goal of the preseason.
Tyler Mrkonjic would score the game’s final goal at 18:32 of the third to give Prince George the 5-1 lead.
The final shots on goal favored Prince George by a 40-21 mark. The Cougars finished the game three-for-11 on the powerplay while Edmonton finished one-for-11 on their chances.
The victory gives the Cougars a 3-0 record on the preseason while Edmonton falls to 1-2. The Cougars have scored 17 goals in three preseason games while only surrendering six.
Jansen Harkins was named the game’s first star after recording three more assists. Harkins now leads the WHL in preseason scoring with a goal and seven assists.
The Cougars and Oil Kings will meet again on Saturday night at the CN Centre.
Comments
great game! bobos is a smart player, stayed well positioned and play aware every moment of every shift.
zarowny looks to be a smart player too, i would think he would create some impressive stats over 55+ games.
the cougars organization/management needs to get with the millennium, racism and/or institutionalized morality? nothing i would have expected from a team that is hurting for support.
i was not able to purchase a beer after the beginning of the third period. any team these days in the whl should be thinking the possibility of a tie in regulation as mandatory if not at least desirable. to dissuade people from attending the end of the game, or fully enjoying the last portion of the game, seems very strange to me. what could be their reasoning for doing so?
as well, when i chose to have a cigarette during an extended break in the play during the third period, four different staff refused me access to the outside to have a smoke. the door i was ultimately referred to was unmanned and i resorted to using my ticket receipt to hold the lock open as i had a cigarette. again, i cannot fathom the reasoning for this.
i would hate to think these decisions are being made for the reasons i initially presented, but if not then why?
i am not surprised so few people would attend such a venue if management takes such a strong position against the potential fans and supporters.
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