After what has felt like an eternity, the Prince George Cougars will return to action tonight at the CN Centre. Tonight for the first and only time this season, the Prince George Cougars will square off against Josh Morrissey and the Prince Albert Raiders, a team with an identical 13-14 record to the Cougars. The Battle of the WHL ‘Princes’ only happens once a season, yet these teams have a penchant for playing close, hard-fought games against each other and given the similarities in the standings, tonight’s game should be no exception.

PRINCE ALBERT RAIDERS

Overview:

Marc Habscheid’s Prince Albert Raiders come into tonight’s game with an identical 13-14 record to the Prince George Cougars. They are 5-5 in their past 10, and are ranked fifth in the six team Eastern Division. Since Marc Habscheid took over behind the bench in Prince Albert, the Raiders have gone 6-5. The Raiders are not a team that will wow you with flash, but they’re a workman-like team that has a lot of experience which is complimented by some extremely promising up-and-coming talent. The Raiders are 7-4 on the road this season and 6-10 on home ice.

Who’s Up Front:

Up front, the Raiders are led by a duo of 19-year-old forwards in Jayden Hart and Craig Leverton. Both have registered 25 points on the season and have combined for 26 of the 84 Raiders goals on the season. Craig Leverton has been especially dangerous on the power play scoring seven of his 12 goals with the extra attacker. Defensively it will be important for the Cougars to key on these two forwards.

Who’s on D:

19-year-old Josh Morrissey headlines the Prince Albert Raiders defense-corps and for good reason. The Winnipeg Jets first rounder is one of the most versatile and explosive defencemen in the entire WHL. Last season Morrissey recorded a staggering 73 points in 59 games and led all WHL defencemen in goals with 28. This season his offensive totals haven’t been quite as prominent, but that does not suggest for even one second that he’s not as effective as he once was. Morrissey has the skillset to take over a game on his own, and the Cougars can expect a TON of him on the ice tonight in all situations for the Raiders.

Who’s in Goal:

The goaltending tandem for Prince Albert consists of 18-year-old Rylan Parenteau (7-5, 3.00 GAA and a .901 save percentage) and 17-year-old Nick McBride (6-9, 3.43 GAA and a .889 save percentage). McBride has appeared in 17 games while Parenteau has appeared in 14. That said, Parenteau has dressed in six straight games, and is 5-1 in that span.  Does Marc Habscheid go with the hot hand as of late? Or does McBride get the nod to start this road trip for Prince Albert?

X-Factor:

For 19-year-old forward Jordan Tkatch, tonight’s game should have plenty of added emotion to it. The product of Prud’Homme, SK spent the first three seasons of his WHL career in Prince George and Tkatch dressed in 196 career games with the Cougars and totalled 33 goals, 82 points and 89 penalty minutes in a Cougars uniform. Tkatch has been a steady contributor for Prince Albert this season scoring five goals and 20 points through 27 games.

PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS

Overview:

Mark Holick’s Prince George Cougars come into tonight’s game with a 13-14 record. That record puts them fourth in the B.C. Division and eighth in the Western Conference standings. A little bit of separation is starting to unfold in the Western Conference, but the Cougars are still a three or four-game winning streak away from being in a much different position in the standings. The major hurdle right now for the Cougars in consistency.  Last week they followed up a brilliant outing in Vancouver with a tough performance at home against Regina. A win tonight puts the Cougars back at the .500 mark and back to within striking distance of the team directly above them in the standings, the Kamloops Blazers whom they’ll face this coming weekend on Saturday.

Who’s Up Front:

The month of November was a breakout month for Cougars second-year forward Brad Morrison. In 11 November games, Morrison tallied five goals and five assists, and on most nights was one of the Cougars most dynamic and hard-working players. In a season filled with positives, Morrison’s progress is right up there, and surely there are some NHL teams that are starting to take a longer look at his game. Hopefully he can start December with a bang also and keep up his near point-per-game pace from November.

Who’s on D:

The Prince George Cougars will get a HUGE boost on the back-end tonight with the return of 19-year-old veteran Marc McNulty who missed a majority of the past month with an upper-body injury. When McNulty is at his best, there are very few (if any) defenceman in the league that can combine his type of size with his type of skill. He’s got a great shot, he makes a great first pass and can log a ton of key minutes in all different types of situations for his team. He’s the type of player whose impact is greatly missed when he’s not there, and hopefully he can make a positive return to the Cougars lineup tonight.

Who’s in Goal:

Last week on Wednesday both Tavin Grant and Ty Edmonds saw action in the game against Regina. Ty Edmonds was sharp in relief stopping 17 of the 19 pucks fired his way. Odds are that Edmonds’ performance a week ago gives him the upper-hand on determining which goaltender gets the start tonight. But since Jared Rathjen was placed on waivers yesterday, like the Cougars are going to ride the young goaltending tandem with the hopes that both can develop accordingly and battle one another for playing time. Both have the tools, and whoever gets the nod tonight will need to be sharp against a plucky Prince Albert Raiders squad.

X-Factor:

Tonight’s game may also be bittersweet for Cougars 20-year-old forward Chance Braid who will square off against many of his former teammates and (current) friends for the first time in his WHL career.  Braid played over 200 games in a Raider uniform before being dealt to Prince George, and you know full well that the Raiders power forward will want to make sure that he plays well and leaves a lasting impression on his organization in what could possibly be the first and only time that he faces the Prince Albert Raiders in the WHL.