After a disappointing result on Tuesday, the Prince George Cougars are right back at it tonight at the CN Centre. For a second straight evening the Cougars will clash with the Vancouver Giants in the second of eight meetings this season between the two clubs. Last night the Vancouver Giants held off the Cougars 6-5, in a game where the final score flattered the home team.

Overview:

Don Hay’s Vancouver Giants played their fourth game in five nights last night, but looked like a team that was fresh and energized. Despite trailing 1-0 early, the Giants kept the pedal down, and never trailed after the 4:28 mark of the first period. Vancouver is 5-9-1-1 and now trails Prince George by four points in the B.C. Division standings. The Giants have won two straight and are 4-4-1-1 in their past 10 games overall.

Who’s Up Front:

Last night the Vancouver Giants were led by Edmonton Oilers prospect Jackson Houck. Houck scored three times for the Giants and now has six goals on the season. Houck has eight points in his past four games and is starting to find his offensive form after a somewhat slow start to the 2013-2014 season.

Who’s on D:

Through 16 games, the Vancouver Giants have been led by 19-year-old Calgary Flames prospect Brett Kulak. The veteran rearguard leads the Giants with six goals and 16 points through 16 games this season. Kulak has 11 points in his past six games, and was tremendously effective in last night’s game at both ends of the ice.

Who’s in Goal:

Payton Lee is now 5-1 lifetime against the Prince George Cougars. Last night Lee was not at his best, but still made the necessary saves late in the game to preserve Vancouver’s lead. Does Don Hay go back with the 17-year-old tonight? Or does Prince George product Jared Rathjen get the nod in the final game of this weeknight double header.

X-Factor:

The Vancouver Giants are now staring a weeknight sweep directly in the eye after last night’s 6-5 victory. That said, sweeping an opponent in back-to-back nights is incredibly difficult in any league, let alone the WHL. Tonight we’ll learn a lot about the Vancouver Giants makeup. Are they content with a split? Or will they go for the kill-shot early?

Overview:

Cougars head coach Mark Holick was not happy after last night’s game. Despite the fact that the Prince George Cougars came darn close to tying things up in the final seconds, the second-year Cougars bench boss said that the final score flattered his club. A similar effort tonight will not be good enough as the Cougars look to inch back to the .500 mark. The Cougars are now 1-1-1 on their current six game home stand, and 3-6 so far this season against B.C. Division teams.

Who’s Up Front:

With 13 points in his past six games and 18 points in his past 10 games it‘s safe to say that nobody in the WHL is hotter than Prince George Cougars forward Chase Witala. Witala had a season high four points in last night’s game, and continues to serve notice to the WHL that he’s breaking out into a star in this league. He and linemates David Soltes and Troy Bourke all found the score sheet again last night, and will need to be equally (if not more so) effective tonight in order to help the Cougars back in the win column.

Who’s on D:

Marc McNulty drew back into the lineup last night, and conveniently got back into the goal column with his first period power play goal. McNulty leads all Cougars bluelines with seven points on the season, and is the only Cougars defenceman to score a goal this season. Will tonight be the night that Joseph Carvalho, Raymond Grewal, or Peter Kosterman lights the lamp for the first time? Some offense from the backend would go a long way for the Cougars as they look to even their season series with the Giants – A team that always relies on contributions from the back end.

Who’s in Goal:

Do the Cougars go back with Ty Edmonds after a tough outing against Vancouver? Or did Brett Zarowny do enough in his 18 minutes of action last night to warrant the start in goal? Either way, the Cougars are going to need their goaltender to at least match the goaltending performance at the other end. Payton Lee wasn’t great last night, but was still good enough to win the game and tonight the Cougars will hope to have their goaltender play a major role in a hopeful victory.

X-Factor:

The Prince George Cougars have surrendered at least one power play goal against in each of their past seven games. Four times in that span the Cougars have given up multiple goals on the man advantage. Overall the Cougars have killed off just 24 of their recent 35 penalties. Tonight that trend needs to change. The Cougars have shown this season that they can kill penalties in bunches, and it might take a stellar effort on special teams to get back into the win column tonight.