Tonight in Kelowna the Prince George Cougars square off against the league-leading Kelowna Rockets for the fifth time this season. Despite the fact that there is already some major familiarity between these two teams, the Cougars have yet to face the Rockets in their home rink. All four prior meetings between these two teams this season have taken place in Prince George. Tonight the Cougars will look to get back on a winning track during a nationally televised game against one of the nation’s best teams. With great challenge comes great opportunity.

KELOWNA ROCKETS

Overview:

Dan Lambert’s Kelowna Rockets come into tonight’s game with the top record in the Western Hockey League. At 23-3-3, the Rockets have grown quite accustomed to winning, and winning convincingly. They are the second ranked team in the country and have outscored their opposition 134 – 69 in 29 games this season. They are 6-2-2-0 in their last 10 games.

Who’s Up Front:

The two top point producers in the WHL both play a pivotal role offensively for the Kelowna Rockets. First there is San Jose Sharks prospect Rourke Chartier who leads the league with 31 goals in 29 games. In his past six games, Chartier has scored eight goals and 10 points. His linemate leads the WHL with 40 assists, and that is 17-year-old draft eligible Nick Merkley. Keeping these two in check is going to be a major key tonight for the Cougars.

Who’s on D:

With eight goals and 33 points in 26 games, Kelowna Rockets captain Madison Bowey continues to provide a nice helping of offense from the back end. He’ll log big minutes in all situations for his team, and has the unique ability to both slow down and speed up a game, depending on which zone of the ice he finds himself in. He was one of seven WHL defencemen invited to Team Canada’s World Junior camp, and he’ll likely be given every opportunity to crack that roster.

Who’s in Goal:

The Kelowna Rockets have ran into a bit of injury trouble in recent weeks, and both Jackson Whistle and Michael Herringer have had to miss some games due to injury. Now both appear to be on the mend, and it could mean that either one of them get the nod. However if both can’t go, they still have Jake Morrissey who earned a victory for Kelowna in Prince George back in November. All three Kelowna netminders have a goals-against-average of under 2.50 and a save percentage of over .920.

X-Factor:

While Rourke Chartier and Nick Merkley have received a bulk of the headlines this season for their offensive efforts, 19-year-old forward Tyson Baillie once again is putting up some big numbers for Kelowna. His 19 goals and 33 points in 28 games is nothing to slouch at, and this season he has been excellent against the Cougars scoring five goals and adding five assists for 10 points in four games. It will be crucial for the Cougars to try and keep Baillie, Bowey, Chartier and Merkley contained as best as possible on the road in Kelowna tonight.

PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS

Overview:

Mark Holick’s Prince George Cougars come into tonight’s game with a 13-15 record. Their 26 points has them ranked fourth in the B.C. Division and in a tie for eighth place in the Western Conference standings. The Cougars are coming off a 5-2 loss on Wednesday night at home against the Raiders, and for a second straight game the Cougars compete level hasn’t been good enough. Tonight it’s all about ‘battle’ and effort.

Who’s Up Front:

With a goal and an assist in Wednesday’s game, 19-year-old forward David Soltes has now tallied nine times this season, and has added four assists. The Slovak has been especially valuable on the Cougars power play, as he now leads all Cougars with five power play goals this season. When he’s moving his feet and playing aggressively, David Soltes can be a real stud for this team. Hopefully he can keep filling the back of the net this weekend.

Who’s on D:

Defensively the Cougars have surrendered 10 goals against over their past two games, which is simply not good enough. The stats are very telling: When the Cougars surrender three goals or less this season they are 13-0. When they allow four or more goals they are 0-15. While stats don’t necessarily tell the whole story, logic would dictate that if the Cougars can keep their opposition to three goals or less they are going to give themselves an excellent chance to win. Tonight the likes of Sam Ruopp, Marc McNulty, Joe Carvalho and Kirk Bear are going to see the lion’s share of work against Kelowna’s top players.

Who’s in Goal:

Wednesday night in Prince George, Ty Edmonds faced 34 shots and made 30 saves in a losing effort. By-and-large Edmonds could not be faulted on three of the four goals that got by him, and in a tough game all around for the Cougars, Edmonds continued to battle and made some difficult saves off of some difficult shooters. Tonight (assuming he gets the nod) he’ll need to do everything in his power to keep his team in the game. Goaltending plays such an important role for every team in this league, and tonight might be one of those nights where the Cougars NEED their goaltender to help steal a win on the road.

X-Factor:

Earlier in the article, the importance of ‘effort’ and ‘battle’ were stressed. Some nights you’ll win, some night’s you’ll lose, but the old cliché of: “Controlling what you can control” definitely applies to tonight’s game. The Cougars to a man need to compete for 60 minutes. Mistakes will be made, adversity will be faced, but throughout the ebs and flows of the game tonight, the Cougars need to continue to battle. If they do that, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever why the Cougars can’t come into Kelowna and grab a victory against the Rockets tonight.