Tonight at the CN Centre, the Prince George Cougars look to extend their home unbeaten streak to five games as they welcome Kelly McCrimmon’s Brandon Wheat Kings to town for their one and only meeting of the 2014-15 regular season. These teams are hardly rivals, but there is still no shortage of intrigue surrounding this game as the Cougars look to avenge a tough Saturday loss in Vancouver.

BRANDON WHEAT KINGS

Overview:

Heading into tonight’s game, the Brandon Wheat Kings (8-2-1-0) are the top team in the Eastern Division and have the second best record in the entire Eastern Conference. With 59 goals on the season, nobody in the WHL has scored more goals than the Wheat Kings. They’re a team littered with depth in all positions, and have established themselves as a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference this season. They are riding a two game winning streak and are 7-2-1-0 in their past 10 games.

Who’s Up Front:

So far this season the Wheat Kings have received exceptional scoring depth, but the top scoring forward continues to be Latvian forward Rihards Bukarts. The second year forward has five goals and 17 points in 11 games, and is on pace to shatter his point totals from last season. Bukarts isn’t going to overwhelm opponents physically, but he’s so shifty and crafty, and has tremendous vision.

Who’s on D:

Arguably the greatest strength of the Wheat Kings today is their depth on defense. Eric Roy, Colton Walz, Ryan Pilon, Macoy Erkamps, Kale Clague and Ivan Provorov could be the strongest one-through-six group of defencemen in the entire WHL. All six possess a large degree of offensive upside, and all have shown so far this season that they can be trusted defensively. The Cougars will need to be physical with Brandon’s defense, and make life as difficult as possible for them in their own end.

Who’s in Goal:

Edmonton’s Jordan Papirny is off to a very strong start in this, his second full season in the WHL. So far the 18-year-old is 7-2-1-0 with a goals-against-average of 2.78 and a save percentage of over .900. Papirny won 22 games a season ago, and is well on his way to shattering that mark, provided things continue to go well for him and the Wheat Kings. His backup is 17-year-old Logan Thompson who has only dressed in one game so far this season, but won his start.

X-Factor:

The Brandon Wheat Kings have eight different players who are managing at least a point per game to start the season. All four of their lines and all six of their defencemen can contribute offensively, which means that the Cougars will need to play with a ton of attention to detail and structure. Florida Panthers prospect Jayce Hawryluk is off to a particularly impressive start with nine goals and 13 points in 11 games so far. It may sound repetitive, but when the Cougars are disciplined and structured they can compete with absolutely anybody in the WHL, and they’re 7-5 record proves that.

PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS

Overview:

Mark Holick’s Prince George Cougars are looking to rebound tonight after a tough loss Saturday night in Vancouver. Take away two tough recent losses to Vancouver, and the Cougars are still riding pretty high having won six of their past eight and four consecutively on home ice. Tonight the Cougars will look to turn the page on Saturday’s result and get back to the Cougar way of doing things. Strong goaltending, discipline and timely scoring will all be keys to success tonight.

Who’s Up Front:

Yes it’s a small sample size, but so far in two games with the Cougars, Jared Bethune has come as advertised. He works hard in the corners, has great hockey sense, and competes hard every shift he’s out on the ice. Bethune has recorded an assist in each of his first two WHL games, and tonight he’ll make his home WHL debut. It’s only a matter of time before he cracks the goal column for the first time, and hopefully tonight could be the night.

Who’s on D:

Here’s hoping that Saturday’s game in Vancouver was simply a defensive anomaly for the Cougars who have otherwise been awesome defensively in recent weeks. Heading into Saturday, the Cougars had only surrendered four goals against in their three prior games and were getting some offensive

contributions from a number of different players back there. Tonight the Cougars defense is definitely going to have their hands full with Brandon’s talented forwards, but don’t expect them to back down in the least. A big night from the defencemen will go a long way to help the Cougars secure a victory tonight.

Who’s in Goal:

Over the course of October, Ty Edmonds has been terrific for the Cougars, and has given them a chance to win basically every time he’s taken the ice. He’s been especially effective at home, having won all of the games during the streak, and over that span has a 1.75 goals-against-average in that span. In October, Edmonds has a .915 save percentage and a 2.70 goals-against-average. Hopefully he’s got another really strong game up his sleeve for tonight.

X-Factor:

The Prince George Cougars will have a very tough time winning tonight unless they get a complete and well-rounded effort from all hands on deck. The offensive leaders will need to score. The defensemen will need to protect their net front, and make solid first passes out of their zone while avoiding turnovers. And the goaltender will need to do his part to ensure success. Tonight should be a ton of fun at the CN Centre as two teams that are on the rise go head-to-head.