Tonight in Kent, WA the Prince George Cougars will wrap up their three game road swing through the US when they clash with the Seattle Thunderbirds for the second of four meetings in 2015-16. So far on the trip the Cougars are 1-1 having split their weekend double header with the Portland Winterhawks. A victory tonight would give the Cougars their 20^th win in their 32^nd game, and would put them tied with the Victoria Royals for second place in the B.C. Division. The task at hand tonight though won’t be easy as the Seattle Thunderbirds are the top team in the US Division and are never an easy team to play against, particularly at home.

SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS

Overview:

Steve Konowalchuk’s Seattle Thunderbirds come into tonight’s game with an overall record of 18-10-2-0. Their 38 points puts them first in the US Division and fourth in the Western Conference. In their past five games they are 5-4-1-0 and are coming off a Saturday home loss against the Everett Silvertips. So far on the season the T-Birds are 1-0 against the Cougars having defeated them 4-1 in early October at ShoWare Center. Last season the T-Birds went 2-1-1-0 against the Cougars but dropped both games against Prince George at home.

Who’s Up Front:

Tonight the T-Birds are going to battle without three of their top forwards at Mathew Barzal (Canada), Scott Eansor (USA) and Alexander True (Denmark) are all off at their respective World Junior camps. Despite the absence of those three big names, the T-Birds have no shortage of offense thanks to the likes of Keegan Kolesar and Ryan Gropp. Kolesar, a Blue Jackets prospect and Gropp, a New York Rangers draftee have combined for 32 goals on the season and are both clicking at over a point per game this season. These two will be doing much of the heavy offensive lifting tonight for Seattle.

Who’s on D:

Defensively the Seattle Thunderbirds are led by third year blueliner Ethan Bear. Bear, an Edmonton Oilers prospect leads the entire WHL in scoring for defencemen with 33 points in 30 games. He’s a +8 and is used in all key situations by the Seattle coaching staff. Bear is complimented nicely by the 20-year-old duo of Jarret Smith and Jared Hauf, both of whom log big defensively minutes for Seattle as well. Defensively the T-Birds are strong in all areas and they will not make things easy tonight on the Cougars forwards.

Who’s in Goal:

The goaltending tandem of Taz Burman and Logan Flodell has been solid for Seattle so far this season. Both are 18-years-old, and both are battling for that number one slot which up to this point hasn’t been clearly established. Flodell has started 20 games for the T-Birds and is 11-6-2-0 with a 2.69 goals-against-average and an .897 save percentage while his counterpart Burman is 7-4 with a 3.13 goals-against-average and a .879 save percentage. The numbers aren’t overwhelming but the most important number out of all of those is victories and they have combined for 18 of those through 30 games, which has led to their division lead.

X-Factor:

The Seattle Thunderbirds have protected their home ice exceptionally well so far this season. In 13 games at home the T-Birds have only lost once in regulation, and that one loss came Saturday against Everett. Overall the T-Birds are 11-1-1-0 in their home barn, and while the Cougars relate with a similar hot record at home, it means that they’re certainly going to have their hands full tonight with Seattle. The positive part here though is the Cougars have had great success at ShoWare Center in recent seasons. In fact only twice in the past five seasons have the Cougars lost in Seattle.

PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS

Overview:

Mark Holick’s Prince George Cougars are still the hottest team going right now in the WHL. With a record of 8-1-0-1 in their past 10 games, no team at this time can rival that type of run over the past 10 games. Overall the Cougars are 19-10-1-1 and are still in the midst of their best start in 15 years. The Cougars were last in action Saturday night in Portland where they stunned the Winterhawks with a 3-2 victory. In 15 road games this season the Cougars are an even 7-7-1-0, and a victory tonight would move them above the .500 mark away from home for the first time this season which would be a huge mental boost considering at one point the Cougars were 2-6-1-0 on the road.

Who’s Up Front:

The offensive depth of the Prince George Cougars is really starting to show as each night the Cougars win it seems to be different players taking their turn pulling the rope when the game is on the line. Saturday night it was Brad Morrison who buried his 10^th of the season on a late third period power play to give his team the 3-2 lead. While Jesse Gabrielle is the only Cougar to average a point-per-game this season, he’s got some company at the top of the list as Chase Witala, Brad Morrison, Jansen Harkins and Brogan O’Brien have all surpassed the 20 point mark and are all contributing much more regularly as of late offensively. Offensive depth will once again be a major key tonight for the Cougars as they face a tough defensive foe in the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Who’s on D:

While the likes of Tate Olson, Joe Carvalho, Sam Ruopp and Josh Anderson garner the most attention on the back-end, second year pivot Shane Collins is quietly having himself a terrific season for the Cougars. In 28 games this season Collins has a goal, 11 assists and is a +7 with 22 penalty minutes. Heading into tonight’s game, Collins has a three game point streak going and you can bet that he’s going to get his share of important minutes. Collins is another great example of the growth and maturation of the defense-corps as a whole and the long hours from the coaching staff continue to pay off when the likes of Collins continue to improve and get better with each passing day.

Who’s in Goal:

Nick McBride started Saturday for Prince George and recorded a 25 save victory over the Winterhawks to move his record as a Cougars to 6-2-0-1. Does that victory make him the go-to-guy tonight for the Cougars? Time will tell. But again in a situation like tonight, it’s great to have a tough decision to make. Ty Edmonds has been razor sharp all season, and when called upon McBride has delivered clutch performances. The truth of the matter is: The coaching staff feels just as confident rolling either guy, which is bad news for opposing teams who can’t plan their approach for one goaltender specifically.

X-Factor:

Bouncing back Saturday to win a game in front of nearly 11,000 fans was a huge character revealer for the 2015-16 Prince George Cougars especially given how Friday’s game ended with a tough final minute goal against. Tonight, that same character and mental toughness is going to be required as the Seattle Thunderbirds crowds are also notoriously loud and intense. Yet the great thing is that Mark Holick’s team seems to thrive in this type of environment and they really seem to feed off of that type of energy from opposing crowds. A strong start tonight for the Cougars would go a long way in helping to silence the crowd and helping this team to their 20^th victory of the season and their eighth on the road.