The Prince George Cougars woke up this morning feeling accomplished, and for good reason. For the first time since 2006 and 2007 the Prince George Cougars have solidified a playoff berth in back-to-back seasons. They did so thanks to a Tri-City Americans loss at the hands  of the Kamloops Blazers, which means that neither the ninth placed Tri-City Americans or the 10^th placed Vancouver Giants can catch Prince George. The Cougars clinched their spot in the dance four games earlier than a season ago, and have already surpassed their victory and point total by a substantial margin compared to 2014-15. That all said the Cougars Round 1 picture is still anything but clear. There are four possibilities for the Cougars first round playoff opponent and one of those possibilities stares back at them tonight. The Kelowna Rockets and the Prince George Cougars would meet if the playoffs were to start today, and no doubt the Cougars are going to want to send a positive message tonight in Kelowna as they get set to battle a potential first round playoff foe.

KELOWNA ROCKETS

Overview:

Head Coach: Brad Ralph

Record: 44-18-3-0 (2^nd in the B.C. Division)

Home Record: 25-5-2

Streak: 2L

Last 10: 7-3

Record Against the Cougars: 5-2

Goal Differential: +40

Who’s Up Front:

–       Dillon Dube: Seven goals and six assists for 13 points in seven games against the Cougars.

–       Tyson Baillie: Three goals and 10 assists for 13 points in seven games against the Cougars this season. He leads all Rockets in goals (38) and points (87).

–       Rourke Chartier: Three goals and four assists for seven points in just three games against the Cougars this season.

Who’s on D:

–       Lucas Johansen has two goals and three assists for five points in seven games against the Cougars this season. He also leads all Rocket defenders with nine goals and 43 points and is a +10.

–       Joe Gatenby is a physical menace who leads the Rockets in plus-minus with a +28 rating.

Who’s in Goal:

–       Michael Herringer is 4-0 against the Cougars this season with a 2.72 goals-against-average and a .924 save percentage. For the season he’s got a save percentage of .900 with a 3.19 goals-against-average and a 23-11-1-0 record with one shutout.

–       Brodan Salmond earned his first career victory against the Cougars back on February 13^th at CN Centre. The young backup is 2-1 with a 3.38 goals-against-average and an .885 save percentage.

X-Factor(s):

–       The power play is ranked seventh in the WHL at 22.0 percent.

–       Justin Kirkland has scored five goals and added two assists for seven points against the Cougars.

–       Having dropped two straight games, you can bet that the Rockets aren’t feeling to thrilled about that. In order for them to catch Victoria for first they need victories, and fast. They trail the Royals by five points with two games still in hand, one of which is tonight’s game against Prince George.

PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS

Overview:

Head Coach: Mark Holick

Record: 36-27-3-1 (3^rd in the B.C. Division)

Road Record: 15-15-2-0

Streak: 1W (Have won three of their past four games)

Last 10: 5-5

Record Against the Cougars: 2-4-1-0 (1-2 in Kelowna)

Goal Differential: +26

Who’s Up Front:

–       Brad Morrison has four goals and seven assists for 11 points over his past six games.

–       Chase Witala sits one goal shy of 40 for the season and leads the team outright with 75 points. Witala would become the second Cougar of the season to reach that mark joining Jesse Gabrielle. It would also make Witala just the eighth Cougar ever to reach 40 goals joining: Jesse Gabrielle, Brett Connolly, Blair Betts, Eric Hunter, Derek Halldorson, Quinn Hancock and Todd Fiddler.

Who’s on D:

–       Tate Olson and Sam Ruopp each had two points in Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Spokane. Olson leads all Cougar blueliners in scoring with eight goals and 46 points while Ruopp has the top plus-minus on the team with a +22 rating. Ruopp also has two goals and four points against the Rockets this season.

–       Collectively the Cougars have held their opponents to just five goals against over their past three games.

Who’s in Goal:

–       Ty Edmonds is 21-14-2-0 this season with a 2.72 goals-against-average, a .912 save percentage and four shutouts. Against the Kelowna Rockets Edmonds is 2-3 on the year with a .911 save percentage and a 2.84 goals-against-average. He’s coming off a 32 save victory Saturday against Spokane.

–       Nick McBride is 12-10-1-1 with a 2.95 goals-against-average and a .905 save percentage. He’s winless against the Rockets having dropped an overtime decision to them back on February 12^th.

X-Factor(s):

–       Mental toughness: How badly do the Cougars want to stay in the top three. The Kamloops Blazers are storming up the standings behind them and the only way to guarantee that the Cougars face either Kelowna or Victoria in Round 1 is if they keep winning too.

–       Discipline must remain a strength for the Cougars as the penalty kill has been sharper as of late, but especially in Kelowna the Cougars can’t afford to give the Rockets additional time and space.

Witala Watch:

–       Chase Witala is now just one point away from matching and two points away from surpassing Troy Bourke for the all-time franchise lead in scoring. Heading into the game tonight Witala has 119 goals (a franchise high) and 116 assists for 235 points.