Over the past week, the Prince George Cougars and Tri-City Americans have become awfully familiar with one another, and tonight in Kennewick it is the Tri-City Americans' turn to host a Teddy Bear Toss game of their own. Tonight marks the final meeting of the regular season between the Prince George Cougars and the Tri-City Americans, and with just three games remaining for the Cougars before their holiday break, it is imperative that they grab a few victories and inch a little closer to the eighth playoff spot in the West. So far this season the Cougars have had success against the Americans, and they'll need that trend to continue tonight.

Overview:

Jim Hiller's Tri-City Americans come into tonight's game with an eight point lead on the Cougars in the Western Division playoff race. At 17-14-1-2 the Ams are just three points back of the sixth placed Spokane Chiefs. So far this seaosn they are 1-2-0-0 against the Cougars and are winless against the Cougars in each of their past two meetings at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, WA.

Who's Up Front:

Third year forward Brian Williams continues to lead the Tri-City Americans in scoring with 20 goals and 30 points thorugh 34 games this season. Unfortunatley for Williams and the Americans, he has struggled mightily against the Cougars so far this season. Williams has been held pointless in all three of the games he's played against Prince George this season, including both games last weekend at the CN Centre. The Ams are going to need their top guns going if they want to climb up the standings, and maybe tonight will be the night for Williams to break out of a six-game pointless streak.

Who's on D:

Given the amount of injuries that the Tri-City Americans back end is dealing with right now, a lot of the younger players are playing a ton of added key minutes for Jim Hiller's club. One player who doesn't seem to mind at all is 16-year-old rookie Parker Wotherspoon. Though he only has three assists on the season, Wotherspoon has all of the makings of a reliable and special defenceman in this league. He moves the puck extremely well, plays his game with an edge, and has some strong hockey bloodlines which may also help his cause as his older brother Tyler had a standout career with the Portland Winterhawks. Given the fact that Michal Plutnar, Mitch Topping and Wil Tomchuk are all missing tonight, I'd expect to see a lot of Wotherspoon in all situations tonight for the Ams.

Who's in Goal:

0nce again tonight the Prince George Cougars are going to be pitted up against one of the top netminders in the entire country, let alone the WHL. Eric Comrie was his usual brilliant self in both games last weekend in Prince George, and despite the fact that his team only won once, he gave them a chance to win both. For the Cougars to be successful against Comrie they will need to block his vision when possible, and do their best to get him moving around in his crease because if he can see it, chances are good that he'll stop it.

X-Factor:

Six days ago the Prince George Cougars got their 'Teddy Bear' goal outof the way just 5:36 into the game. It worked out well because they got it out of the way quickly, and mentally regrouped for the remaining 55 minutes of play. Tonight, the shoe is on the other foot, and the Tri-City Americans will be tasked with scoring at leaset once tonight so that their fans can excitedly throw stuffed toys onto the ice. The longer they go without a goal, the tougher it will be for them. They key tonight for the home team will be to score as quick as possible so that they can return their focus tow here it needs to be.

Overview:

Mark Holick's Prince George Cougars will play each of their next six games on the road, and won't be back home unitl January 3rd, 2014. Considering the fact that the Cougars are eight points out of a playoff spot, and have a handful of road games approacing, it is almost imperitive that the Cougars string together a road winning streak before the break, in order to ensure that they give themselves enough of a gap to come back from. Last Tuesday the Cougars put 52 shots on Kootenay's Mackenzie Skapski, only to lose the game 3-1. Effort-wise the Cougars have been on point in recent games, but now that strong effort needs to translate into some more victories. So far this season the cougars are 2-0-1-0 against Tri-City and tonight will look to inch a little closer to them in the standings.

Who's up Front:

When Jordan Tkatch was 16 he had a four-game goal streak in October, 2011. Fast forward to two seasons later and the now 18-year-old has a three game goal streak heading into tonight's game. With a goal last Tuesday against Kootenay, Tkatch has already matched his point totals from last season, and has half a season still to go in order to improve on that total. Not only has Tkatch been strong offensively, but his defensive instincts are among the best on the team. He has provided a fantastic two-way game for the Cougars this season, and has easily been one of the most consistent forwards this season for Mark Holick's team.

Who's on D:

In each of the past two games, the Cougars have done a great job defensively of limiting second and third chances in front of their goal. Marc McNulty and Sam Ruopp have supplied some offense, and guys like Joseph Carvalho and Martin Bobos have made the most of their increased icetime in recent games. Tonight (as always) the Cougars are going to need 'all hands on deck' defensively to try and keep those bears off the ice for as long as possible.

Who's in Goal:

Earlier today the Cougars received some excellent news when they learend that Ty Edmonds had been named to Team Cherry's Roster for the 2014 CHL/NHL Top Prospects game which will be played in Calgary on January 15th, 2014. Edmonds has put together a remarkable rookie season considering the circumstances. He is 9-9-1-2 with a 3.44 goals-against-average, a .901 save percentage and two shutouts. Edmonds earned his first career WHL victory as a starter in Kennewick, WA and tonight he'll get the chance to do it again.

X-Factor:

Those who have been following the Cougars travel progress in recent days know full well that the Cougars did not arrive to Tri-City on schedule. In fact the recent weather in Prince George has forced the cancellation of practice, and threw all kinds of unexpected obstacles in the Cougars way travel-wise. But now that they have safely arrived in Kennewick, there are no excuses. The Cougars are a team in pursuit of a playoff spot, and they'll need to dig deep regardless of any outside distractions stemming from earlier this week. With three games in three nights it is almost essential that the Cougars can start off on the right foot with two points tonight.