There’s always something a little bit extra on the line whenever the Prince George Cougars and the Kamloops Blazers get together.  Their rivalry needs little explaining and over the past 20 seasons, these teams have had some epic battles. Whether it’s preseason, regular season or post season, these teams do not under any circumstances want to lose to each other. Tonight in Prince George it’s another chapter in the awesome rivalry that is the Prince George Cougars and the Kamloops Blazers.

KAMLOOPS BLAZERS

Overview:

Don Hay’s Kamloops Blazers have gotten themselves off to a solid start in 2014-15. They are 9-7-1-0 through 17 games this season, and are currently second place in the B.C. Division. Offensively they’ve scored the second most goals in the Western Conference and they’re getting solid contributions from a number of different players.

Who’s Up Front:

Dallas Stars prospect Cole Ully is off to a terrific start in 2014-15. With nine goals and 26 points in 16 games, Ully finds himself at the very top of the WHL in scoring. Last season Ully scored 30 goals on a Kamloops team that struggled to win games last year. Seven of Ully’s 30 goals came against Prince George, and he led all Blazers with 14 points against the Cougars a season ago.

Who’s on D:

Prince George native Josh Connolly is off to a solid offensive start in 2014-15. Connolly has three goals and 10 points in 15 games this season which leads all Kamloops defencemen. Last season Connolly had 11 goals and 45 points and played in all 72 games for the Blazers. Connolly has blazing speed, terrific offensive instincts, an you know that he’ll be especially fired up to play in front of friends and family tonight in Prince George.

Who’s in Goal:

Earlier in the season, Kamloops General Manager Craig Bonner made the decision to trade 20-year-old netminder Bolton Pouliot to Portland, which means that the goaltending reigns have been handed to the young duo of Connor Ingram and Cole Kehler. The similarities are staggering between these two statistically. Kehler’s goals-against-average is 3.31 while Ingram’s is 3.43. Their save percentages are more or less the same at .896 and .895 respectively and both are in their 17-year-old season. It would not be at all surprising to see both of these netminders play this weekend.

X-Factor:

The big three offensively for Kamloops are: Cole Ully, Matt Needham and Deven Sideroff. Between the three of them they have totalled 26 goals and 39 assists and are making their mark on a consistent basis. The  Blazers do have some good scoring depth, but these three are definitely the go-too guys for Kamloops when the game is on the line. Keeping these three in check will be a MUST this weekend if the Cougars are to find success.

PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS

Overview:

Mark Holick’s Prince George Cougars are an even 8-8-0-0 on the season. After a tough start to their Alberta road trip, the Cougars ended on a very strong note last weekend defeating the Calgary Hitmen 3-2. When the Cougars are defensively sound and structured, they win and Sunday was a perfect example of that. Last season the Cougars went 7-2-1-0 against the Blazers and are hoping for similar success in 2014-15.

Who’s Up Front:

Before the game in Calgary, Mark Holick mishmashed all four of his forward lines, and all four of them contributed positively to the victory. The Cougars got offense from Tyler Mrkonjic, Chase Witala and Kody McDonald, all of whom were playing on different lines. More and more we’re starting to see some secondary scoring from the Cougars, which is great to see, because it eliminates some of the pressure on the likes of Jansen Harkins, Jari Erricson and Chase Witala.

Who’s on D:

Not only has defenceman Sam Ruopp been a beast defensively for the Cougars, but he’s starting to add some more offense to his game. So far Ruopp has a goal and six assists this season, but has managed four points over his past four games. Look for Ruopp to get a bulk of the minutes against the top three scorers (Ully, Needham and Sideroff) on the Blazers.

Who’s in Goal:

With newly acquired goaltender Jared Rathjen in the fold, the Cougars now have no shortage of options between the pipes. Tavin Grant is coming off of his first WHL victory last Sunday, and Ty Edmonds is no doubt excited to get back between the pipes and get back into the win column. How soon will Rathjen be ready to play? Does Grant get another look in one of these two games? Does Ty Edmonds get the nod to bounce back tonight? All of these questions will surely be answered in due course this weekend!

X-Factor:

A major key for the Cougars tonight will be paying attention to detail defensively. We’ve seen it time and time again this season that when the Cougars play with structure and simplicity in the defensive zone, they win. The Cougars held a very talented Calgary team to 28 shots and two goals last Sunday, which is no easy task. Hopefully they can build off of that performance and repeat it this weekend a couple of times against the Blazers.