Tonight in Prince George the Cougars wrap up a brief two game home stand with their first and only meeting of the 2016-17 season against Dean Brockman’s Saskatoon Blades. The Cougars are unbeaten in regulation in their past three games, but are coming off a 5-4 OT loss Tuesday at the hands of the Swift Current Broncos. No doubt the Cougars will want to make amends for Tuesday’s disappointing finish with a home ice victory before they head on the road for three straight. Tonight marks the second of 12 Feature Games in Prince George so the crowd should be large and loud at the rink on Ospika.

SASKATOON BLADES
OVERVIEW:
Record: 6-4-1-0
Road Record: 4-3
Goals For/Goals Against: 27 GF/35 GA
Power Play: 17.9% (15th in WHL)
Penalty Kill: 78.6% (11th in WHL)
Leading Scorers: Mason McCarty (11GP – 8G – 4A – 12PTS), Jesse Shynkaruk (11GP – 6G – 3A – 9PTS), Braylon Shmyr (11GP – 2G – 4A – 6PTS)

WHO’S UP FRONT:
Mason McCarty: Is on a six game point streak heading into tonight. In that span he has six goals and two assists. Jesse Shynkaruk: The 20-year-old has carved out a nice start for himself in 2016-17. In 11 games he’s got six goals and nine points.

WHO’S ON D:
Libor Hajek: The 18-year-old was the 37th overall pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2016 NHL Draft. He’s the real deal and has six points in nine games so far this season. He’ll log a TON of minutes tonight for the Blades on the back-end.

WHO’S IN GOAL:
Logan Flodell: Has a 2.14 goals-against-average, a .935 save percentage and a 5-2 record with one shutout so far this season. He’s been outstanding. He’s also played two games over his past three nights and given the travel, it might mean the Blades go with Brock Hamm who’s coming off a tough outing Tuesday in Victoria against the Royals.

X-FACTOR:
Fatigue?: This will mark the Blades fourth game in five nights with some pretty chaotic travel included, so you can’t blame them if they’re feeling a little banged up and tired. But with that said they are 2-2 on this current trip and a win tonight gives them a successful B.C. road trip, so you can bet that they’re going to dig deep and give it everything they’ve got tonight at the CN Centre.

PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS

OVERVIEW:
Record: 10-2-1-0
Home Record: 4-2-1-0
Goals For/Goals Against: 49 GF/35 GA
Power Play: 24.1% (7th in WHL)
Penalty Kill: 88.1% (2nd in WHL)
Leading Scorers: Brad Morrison (13GP – 4G – 11A – 15PTS), Jared Bethune (13GP – 5G – 8A – 13PTS), Colby McAuley (13GP – 4G – 7A – 11PTS)

WHO’S UP FRONT:
Jansen Harkins: Earlier this week Harkins learned that he’d be representing the WHL for a second straight season in the Canada Russia Series. So far this season in seven games, Harkins has a goal and seven assists for eight points. Jesse Gabrielle: Has goals in three straight games coming into tonight. He leads the team outright in goals with six and has 10 points in seven games since rejoining the Cougars from the Boston Bruins.

WHO’S ON D:
Tate Olson: Leads all Cougars blueliners with two goals and six assists for eight points in 11 games.

WHO’S IN GOAL:
Ty Edmonds: Will start his fourth straight game tonight for the Cougars. For the season, Edmonds is 7-1-1-0 with a 2.30 goals-against-average and a. 914 save percentage. He’s coming off a 5-4 overtime loss on Tuesday against Swift Current.

X-FACTOR:
A full 60: The argument could be made that the Cougars were the better team than the Broncos for a majority of Tuesday’s game, but once the Cougars jumped to a 4-2 lead in the third period, the wheels came off. Tonight the Cougars need to keep the pedal down regardless of the score or situation.