Prince George, B.C. – The CN Centre is starting to become a very friendly place for the Prince George Cougars. Through their first 10 home games the Cougars have compiled a record of 7-3, and have earned four straight victories in that span. All-in-all the Cougars have grabbed points in seven of their past 10 games and are feeling pretty confident as they get set to welcome the Edmonton Oil Kings again tonight in the second of back-to-back meetings between the two clubs. Last night the Cougars erased a 2-0 deficit en route to a 4-2 victory and will look for some more traction tonight when they play their second of three games in three nights.

EDMONTON OIL KINGS

Overview:

Steve Hamilton’s Edmonton Oil Kings come into tonight’s game with a 7-10-3-0 record on the season. Last night’s loss halted a three game winning streak for Edmonton who are 4-4-2-0 in their past 10 games. Tonight’s game is the second of a six game B.C. Division road swing and you can bet that they are not looking to leave Prince George empty handed before they are back in action Tuesday in Vancouver. Tonight’s game marks the final time this season that these two teams will square off.

Who’s Up Front:

19-year-old Dallas Stars prospect Brett Pollock was the standout player Friday for Edmonton. He scored the Oil Kings’ second goal of the game, and by and large was his team’s most steady offensive performer. His second period goal was his ninth of the season, and his 19^thpoint through 20 games. Pollock is the type of player that can do a lot of different things for the Oil Kings, and last night was a prime example of how he used his size, strength and skill to his advantage. Surely the Oil Kings are hoping for a similar outing from Pollock again tonight.

Who’s on D:

19-year-old Nasvhille Predators prospect Aaron Irving logged some big minutes for his team last night, and despite not factoring into the offense, he and his defense partner Anatolli Elizarov were steady and provided a nice compliment to Dysin Mayo who was his usual stellar self on the back-end for Edmonton. Last night was the type of night where whenever the Oil Kings made mistakes defensively, the Cougars seemed to capitalize. One game like that does not define a season, and odds are the Oil Kings will come back tonight with a greater sense of defensive urgency. They’ll need their veterans like Irving, Carroll and Mayo to lead the way.

Who’s in Goal:

Patrick Dea started last night’s game for Edmonton and was saddled with the loss after he surrendered four goals against on 32 shots faced. Given the fact that it’s the second game in as many nights, Steve Hamilton may opt to go with his backup, Payton Lee. Lee is no stranger to the Prince George Cougars having spent the last three seasons as a member of the Vancouver Giants. For his career, Lee is 8-4 against the Cougars with a 2.63 goals-against-average and a .912 save percentage. He’s got to get into a game sooner or later you’d think for Edmonton and tonight could very well be the night where he makes his Oil Kings debut.

X-Factor:

Special teams proved to be the difference in last night’s game. The Cougars struck twice on their five power play chances while the Oil Kings went zero-for-three on their opportunities. That will need to change tonight. Winning on the road is tough enough as it is, and often times it can be special teams that makes the difference. Look for the Oil Kings to really push strong out of the gate and if they can get their special teams going, it’s going to bode very well for them in the rematch.

PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS

Overview:

Mark Holick’s Prince George Cougars are coming into tonight’s game with a 9-7-1-0 record. Their 19 points have them ranked third in the B.C. Division and fifth in the Western Conference standings. Last night’s victory proved to be an important one for the Cougars as most of the teams in-and-around them in the standings won or at least grabbed a single point. Tonight’s game marks the final game of their brief two-game homestand and also marks the second of what will ultimately be three games in three nights for Prince George as they will head to Kamloops tomorrow for a battle the Blazers. A victory tonight would already make this weekend a success for the Cougars and hopefully they can take advantage of the opportunity to make it so.

Who’s Up Front:

Don’t look now WHL, but Chase Witala may be starting to heat up. The 20-year-old Prince George native led the Cougars offensively with two goals and an assist in last night’s victory, and over the course of his lengthy WHL career, Witala has been a very streaky scorer which is great news for the Cougars assuming he can keep it going. Despite his struggles this season, Witala is tied for second in team scoring with six goals and is third in team scoring with 11 points in 17 games. With a four game road trip looming for the Cougars they’d sure like their top guns to contribute offensively a little more regularly and hopefully last night’s effort was a sign of things to come from Witala and company.

Who’s on D:

Tate Olson returned to the Cougars back-end last night and did not miss a beat. He killed penalties, skated well with the puck and helped contribute offensively on the fourth Cougars goal of the game. He’s one of those players where maybe you don’t realize just how valuable he is to your team until he’s out of the lineup, and after missing his services for the six games, it was obvious that the Cougars relished having Olson back in the fold. A repeat performance from Olson and company defensively would be huge for the Cougars as they look for their 10^th victory of the season.

Who’s in Goal:

Prior to the weekend, 18-year-old Nick McBride had been told that he was going to get some action in net this weekend. But I don’t think he or anyone for that matter expected him to draw into the lineup so quickly. Mid-way through last night’s game, Ty Edmonds had to be removed due to injury which meant that McBride who hadn’t played a second of WHL regular season hockey yet this season was thrown into the fire. Guess what? He thrived. To the team’s credit, he only had to face 10 shots but he did his part when called upon and seemed to get more comfortable with things as the game went on. He’ll get the start tonight in the rematch with Edmonton and hopefully a little more notice and preparation can help him feel even more confident and better as he looks for his second straight victory in net for Prince George.

X-Factor:

The X-Factor for the Cougars does not change. Special teams was the big difference for them last night, and it likely will be again tonight. If the Cougars can start building some traction with their power play it’s only going to help their cause, particularly with a lengthy road schedule that looms after tonight. The power play has held its own at home, but has been abysmal on the road. The best thing for the Cougars tonight would be to build some further confidence on the man advantage tonight so that they can carry that momentum into their road trip.