Tonight in Prince George the Cougars will look to do something that they haven’t done since February 2011: Sweep the Kelowna Rockets in a home weekend double header. Last night the Cougars scored a goal in each period and their goaltender Ty Edmonds was razor sharp in a 3-0 victory over the defending league champs. The win pushed the Cougars record to 3-3 and sets the table for a very intriguing rematch tonight. It’s the second of 10 Feature games this season for the Prince George Cougars and tonight they’ll be sporting some spiffy Pink jerseys in order to help raise awareness towards Breast Cancer research.

KELOWNA ROCKETS

Overview:

Brad Ralph’s Kelowna Rockets come into tonight’s game with a 6-4 record. Their 12 points have them ranked second in the B.C. Division and second overall in the Western Conference. Last night’s loss was their third that they’ve suffered on the road and their second shutout defeat in their past three games altogether. Despite all of that there’s zero reason for panic in the Okanagan. The Rockets have still scored the most goals in the Western Conference (39) and they have yet to lose two in a row all season, so you know that they’ll be ready to push back with their best tonight. Don’t forget these two teams meet twice more before the end of the month, both in Kelowna starting next Friday.

Who’s Up Front:

Yes the Rockets were shutout last night, but it certainly wasn’t for a lack of chances. They fired 35 shots at the Cougars goal and on most other nights they’d have certainly found the back of the net. After all, this team averaged 4.3 goals-per-game prior to puck drop last night. One of the most impressive forwards for Kelowna was sophomore forward Dillon Dube. The Cochrane, AB product had several big chances to score, and used his speed and skill to his advantage when possible. So far this season the draft eligible forward has four goals and five assists for nine points in eight games. You can bet that he’s going to be one of the major focal points of the Kelowna offensive attack again tonight.

Who’s on D:

Defensively the Rockets struggled at times last night, but the Rockets defensive struggles are likely a by-product of a very young defense-corps that the Rockets have started the season with. You had to figure that losing Madison Bowey, Josh Morrissey and Cole Martin at the end of last season was going to be a tough pill to swallow for Kelowna, and it will take some time for this young defense-corps to get comfortable. Last night the Cougars saw a steady diet of 18-year-old Joe Gatenby who saw a bulk of the minutes against the Cougars top offensive threats. Gatenby doesn’t have any points to his credit this season but he’s a +3 and is a very steady presence on Kelowna’s back end. There’s no reason not to expect a ton of number 28 in black again tonight.

Who’s in Goal:

Kelowna’s best player in last night’s game was goaltender Jackson Whistle. He faced 41 shots and turned aside 38 of them, many of which were tough point-blank chances for the Cougars. Goaltending like that on most nights will give you a chance to win, and Whistle can hold his head high knowing that he played a whale of a game for the visitors. Tonight’s game will be the third in four nights for Kelowna, which might mean that Michael Herringer gets the nod, but with a performance like Whistle’s Friday it would be easy for the coaching staff to go right back to their 20-year-old again this evening.

X-Factor:

The big key for Kelowna tonight: Stay the course. They’ve got plenty of skill up front, and it’s inevitable that they are going to get some good looks at the Cougars net at some point. When they get those looks though, they need to convert. Both teams are going to be making adjustments prior to tonight’s rematch, and the team that adjusts the best may very well earn the victory. For Kelowna it will also be limiting the Cougars shots against, because though they have 39 goals for, they have also surrendered 39 against. Great offense often begins with strong play defensively.

PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS

Overview:

Mark Holick’s Prince George Cougars come into tonight’s game with an even 3-3 record. Their six points currently has them ranked third in the B.C. Division and eighth in the Western Conference. They’ve won two straight games, and are now 3-2 on home ice. The Prince George Cougars attention to detail defensively has been a major strength of theirs as of late, and tonight they’ll look to replicate that as they take aim at a plus-.500 record on the season. There’s no telling what a sweep of the defending champs would do for this Cougars team’s confidence. It won’t be easy though and the Cougars will need to work just as hard and then some tonight to make it happen.

Who’s Up Front:

Secondary scoring was a big time strength for the Cougars last night as forwards Bartek Bison and Jared Bethune both notched their first goals of the season. The fact is that some nights the top two lines are going to be checked closely and they might not always contribute at the rate that they are used too. That’s when depth can really make a difference. Tonight it’s a given that the likes of Jansen Harkins, Chase Witala, Brad Morrison and Jesse Gabrielle are going to get chances, and chances are that they are going to convert on them, but it sure doesn’t hurt to have guys like Jared Bethune and Bartek Bison chipping in offensively to help take some of the pressure off the Cougars top guns. Mark Holick has preached all along that he wants a balanced, four-line attack. So far so good for the Cougars in 2015-16.

Who’s on D:

For a second consecutive season Cougars captain Sam Ruopp has the distinction of being the first Prince George Cougars defenseman to score a goal. Last night Ruopp’s goal proved to be the back breaker for Kelowna as his goal early in the third pushed the Cougars lead to three. Ruopp was also very steady in his own zone and is now tied for the team lead in plus-minus with a +5 rating. Yes the Cougars have played the fewest games in the WHL to this point, but they’ve surrendered the fewest goals against. It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, that’s a terrific stat, particularly for a team that has struggled to keep the goals against down in recent years. It’s still early, but this is a definite early season highlight for the Cougars and something that they can hopefully continue to build on as the season continues on.

Who’s in Goal:

Ty Edmonds was the undisputed first star of last night’s game. There’s no debate. He was THAT good. His numbers so far on the season have been scary good, considering he’s got a 1.50 goals-against-average, a .953 save percentage and a shutout to his credit. Last night’s win was also the 50^th of his WHL career. Asking your goaltender to make 35 saves and shutout the opposition every night is a tall order indeed, but one can’t ignore the consistency that Edmonds has displayed early on this season. That, along with the Cougars improvement defensively have arguably been the two early season highlights for Prince George. You don’t win playoff series and championships without strong goaltending and defense, and the Cougars have to be encouraged by the success of Edmonds to this point. He’ll start tonight again for Prince George.

X-Factor:

Twice this season the Cougars have lost on Friday only to bounce back later in the weekend with a home ice victory. Now the shoe is on the other foot. The Cougars have won the opener of the double header and are now in position to really make a statement to not only the B.C. Division but the entire WHL. Earning weekend sweeps is difficult for any team. It’s just the way it goes. The team that loses the first night always comes back stronger the next night it seems, and the Cougars have to prepare for that. Kelowna is going to be aggressive right off the hop, and it will be important for the Cougars to weather that storm, play to their strengths and let the results take care of themselves provided that strong effort remains. The Cougars have the chance now to turn a good weekend into a spectacular one with another home ice victory tonight.