Last night’s game in Victoria served as a chilling reminder that it takes a complete effort on most nights to walk away with points. The Royals scored early and often, and cruised to an 8-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. Now the Cougars will need to turn the page, learn from their mistakes and bounce back with a better effort tonight against the same opponent.

Overview:

Dave Lowry’s Victoria Royals improved their record to 24-13-0-2 with a victory last night. They have now gone five games without a regulation loss, and improved to 4-1 this season against the Prince George Cougars.

Who’s Up Front:

From start to (almost) finish, the trio of Axel Blomqvist, Steven Hodges and Branden Magee were dominant for the Victoria Royals. Those three combined for five goals and 11 points, and helped spark a Victoria Royals offense that is starting to find some signs of life.

Who’s on D:

Say what you will about Victoria’s stellar goaltending, the fact is that they also possess some very steady and reliable defenseman that constantly make life difficult for the opposition. Jordan Fransoo and Keegan Kanzig did a great job of breaking up rushes and protecting the front of their goal, and Brett Cote did a fine job on the offensive side moving the puck and creating plays from the point. If the Cougars want a better result tonight, they will need to pay more of a price in front of Victoria’s goal.

Who’s in Goal:

If you’re the Prince George Cougars, who would you rather face? The 19-year-old Patrik Polivka who is 8-0 lifetime against you? Or what about 18-year-old Coleman Vollrath who currently leads the league in save percentage, and just stopped 36 of the 37 shots he faced a night ago? Victoria’s goaltending gives them a chance to win every night, and obviously being staked to a huge lead helped, but Coleman Vollrath also made some key stops to keep his team ahead. Flip a coin, because either guy gives them a terrific chance to win.

X-Factor:

The Victoria Royals are a team that has a little bit of everything going for them. They have size (Nelson, Kanzig, Blomqvist), skill (Walker, Magee, Hodges), grit (Fisher, Crunk) and most importantly they always work hard! There is never seems to be any quit in their game, and teams won’t beat them unless they can match or surpass their level of compete. To a man, the Cougars simply were not good enough in any area last night, and tonight they are going to need to be mindful of the same exact things that led to Victoria’s success a night ago.

Overview:

Mark Holick’s Prince George Cougars are 14-19-2-3 through 38 games, and now find themselves five points out of eighth place thanks to Tri-City’s single point last night against Portland. Lately the Prince George Cougars have mastered the art of winning one, then losing one, and tonight it will be interesting to see how they bounce back.

Who’s Up Front:

Even amidst an 8-1 loss, it’s hard to ignore the positives and the progress being displayed by 18-year-old forward Jordan Tkatch. With his third period goal, Tkatch increased his point streak to seven games, and notched his 25th point of the season. He has arguably been the Cougars most consistent forward all season, and it’s nice to see him getting rewarded offensively for his efforts.

Who’s on D:

Some nights the Prince George Cougars are full marks defensively. On the nights where they back check hard, block shots, finish checks and make smart and simple plays, they can play with and stay with any team in the WHL. Other nights the Cougars seem to struggle mightily and have trouble with breakouts, entries and the whole ball of wax. Luckily the Cougars have shown recently that they have the ability to bounce back strong after tough outings, and hopefully tonight can be the start of that. It’s going to take a collective effort from everybody though, and no shortcuts can be taken.

Who’s in Goal:

Lately it seems to be feast of famine for rookie netminder Ty Edmonds who is poised to make his 11th consecutive start for Prince George tonight in Victoria. Last night Edmonds struggled surrendering eight goals on 36 shots faced, but to pin last night’s result on him is simply not fair. Was it his best outing? Far from it. But tonight Edmonds has another opportunity to bounce back and lead his troops to victory. Hopefully he’s up for the challenge.

X-Factor:

Tonight it’s all about pride for the Cougars. Nobody wants to lose any game, whether it’s 3-2 in overtime or 8-1 in regulation. I know it’s clichéd, but tonight the leaders need to lead, and the kids need to follow. If you’re a scorer, you need to go to the net hard and bare down. If you’re a defenceman you need to defend hard and finish checks, and the goaltender needs to keep his team in the game. The Royals are a skilled, balanced team and will not be an easy foe. But the Cougars have beaten some tough teams this season, and hopefully tonight they can find a way to regain some of that swagger that they had before the break.