Tonight in Spokane, the Prince George Cougars look to get back on track as their four game swing through the US Division continues. Last night the Cougars dropped a 4-1 decision to the Tri-City Americans and also lost their captain to injury in the process. Fortunately it’s a quick turnaround and tonight the Cougars will play the first of what will ultimately be four games over the next 11 days against the Chiefs.

SPOKANE CHIEFS

Overview:

Don Nachbar’s Spokane Chiefs roll into tonight’s game with an overall record of 28-23-5-3. Their 64 points put them fourth in the US Division, seventh in the Western Conference and one point back of the Portland Winterhawks for a top three playoff spot within their own division. In their last 10, the Chiefs are 4-3-2-1 and are coming off a 4-1 loss on Sunday in Everett against the Silvertips. Last season the Chiefs were 3-1 against the Cougars and were 1-1 against them at the Spokane Arena.

Who’s Up Front:

Leading the way offensively for Spokane this season has been 17-year-old sophomore Kailer Yamamoto. The product of Spokane, WA leads the team with 64 points in 50 games. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, Yamamoto has been injured and hasn’t layed since February 3^rd. Now he’s listed as ‘day-to-day’ on the WHL’s injury report, and tonight may very well mark the night of his return. But even without Yamamoto, the Chiefs have some very capable scorers that can make life difficult for the opposition. Austria native Dominic Zwerger leads the team with 23 goals while Kailer Yamamoto’s older brother Keanu has put together a nice season with 18 goals and 47 points.

Who’s on D:

Defensively the Chiefs are without their top defenceman Jason Fram who is listed ‘week-to-week’ on the WHL’s injury report. Fram is a big loss for the Chiefs as he has chipped in with 11 goals and 44 points in 52 games. His supporting cast is more than capable though as Tyson Helgesen, Evan Fiala and Matt Sozanski have all proven that they can provide steady and capable two-way minutes for Don Nachbar’s team and they’ll need to tonight as they face a Cougars team that’s due to break out offensively after just scoring five goals in their past three games.

Who’s in Goal:

The Spokane Chiefs have gotten some reliable goaltending as of late from the tandem of Tyson Verhelst and Lasse Petersen. Verhelst is the incumbent and spent last season serving as a backup to Garret Hughson who no longer plays in the WHL. This season Verhelst at 18 has posted a record of 21-18-1-3 with a 3.10 goals-against-average, an .892 save percentage and one shutout. Petersen is also 18, and he started the season with the Calgary Hitmen, but since joining the Chiefs he’s gone 6-2-1-0 with an .898 save percentage and a 2.78 goals-against-average. Both are capable of leading their team to victory and whichever guy gets the start tonight will need to make sure that they are at their best, because as mentioned earlier the Cougars are due to break out offensively.

X-Factor:

The Spokane Chiefs are not a team with loads of star power, but year after year they remain competitive because of their commitment to a team game and a team mindset. That’s not to say that the Cougars can take it easy on the Chiefs defensively because they’ve scored 191 goals and have some underrated offensive depth that maybe slips under the radar a bit compared to some of their WHL foes. But offensively they are capable and defensively they have a reputation for being a stingy, in your face type of club that never makes things easy on an opponent. Tonight the Cougars must be willing to match that type of intensity tonight on the road.

PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS

Overview:

Mark Holick’s Prince George Cougars are coming into tonight’s game with a record of 32-24-3-1. Despite their recent struggles the Cougars remain five points ahead of Kamloops for that third place playoff spot in the B.C. Division and are still 16 points ahead of their pace from a season ago with 12 games now remaining in their regular season. The Cougars are 3-6-1-0 in their past 10 games and will face the Chiefs for the first time tonight since December of 2014. A win tonight would help snap a two game losing streak and a four game losing streak, their longest of the season.

Who’s Up Front:

Last night was a struggle collectively for all of the Cougars forwards who weren’t able to get a lot of traction going offensively, especially in the first two periods. But the encouraging thing is that the Cougars are too skilled offensively for these struggles to continue much longer. There are several players on this team that are due to break out offensively: Bartek Bison, Jansen Harkins, Brogan O’Brien and Kody McDonald have all gone at least five games without a goal. That’s bound to change and hopefully tonight can be that night in Spokane.

Who’s on D:

Already without one of their ‘big rigs’ in Josh Anderson, the Prince George Cougars will be going to battle tonight without their captain Sam Ruopp who left the game last night in the first period after blocking a shot above his shoulders while killing a penalty. The good news is that Ruopp remains with the team having made the trip to Spokane with the team last night. His spirits remain exceptionally high given the situation, and as we’ve come to expect, his attitude remains extremely upbeat and positive. Obviously the absence creates a major hole on the back-end for the Cougars, but it also provides an awesome opportunity for others to step up and be counted. We could see the WHL debut of Jonas Harkins tonight, while fellow young defencemen like Joel Lakusta and Max Martin can expect to be regulat contributors tonight. Obviously though success defensively is going to stem from the three veterans: Joe Carvalho, Tate Olson and Shane Collins. A big game from all three of them will be essential for the Cougars to have success tonight.

Who’s in Goal:

The good news from last night was that Ty Edmonds was awesome in goal for a second straight game. Despite the Cougars falling 4-1 in a game where they were largely outplayed, Edmonds stood  tall and made a handful of outstanding saves to keep his team within striking distance. It’s not often that you get a goaltender who feels confident even after a loss, but in this case it’s justifiable for sure. With three games upcoming in the next four days, Nick McBride is bound to get a start or two for the Cougars, and tonight may very well be that night given that it’s back-to-back games with some travel involved. Either way you slice it the Cougars feel good about their goaltending right now, and with a young blueline and a team struggling to score with regularity, it might be one of the two goaltenders that needs to steal the show tonight for the Cougars.

X-Factor:

Tonight marks the 200^th career game in the WHL for Jansen Harkins and tonight on a milestone night would certainly be an appropriate time for Harkins to breakout offensively and lead the charge. Last season against the Chiefs Harkins led all Cougars with seven points, three of which were goals. When he’s at his best there are few players in the entire WHL that have Harkins’ mix of skill and smarts. He’s shown time and time again over the course of his 199 game career that he’s capable of taking over a game, and here’s hoping that game 200 can be a memorable night for both Harkins and the Prince George Cougars as they take aim at win number 33 on the season.