Tonight at the CN Centre the Prince George Cougars will play their final home game of 2016. It also marks the conclusion of their season-long seven game home stand which began all the way back on December 2nd against the Victoria Royals. Since then a lot has happened, and sure there have been ups and downs, but the Cougars are 4-2 during the home stand and can put their stamp on a solid start to December with another victory tonight against a hungry Tri-City Americans team that is looking to avenge last night’s 4-1 loss.

TRI-CITY AMERICANS

OVERVIEW:

Record: 19-12-3-0

Road Record: 8-7-1-0

Last Game: A 4-1 loss last night to the Prince George Cougars

Goals For/Goals Against: 122 GF/120 GA

Power Play: 29.5% (2nd in WHL)

Penalty Kill: 83.1% (5th in WHL)

Leading Scorers: Morgan Geekie (34GP – 17G – 24A – 41PTS), Michael Rasmussen (34GP – 22GP – 16A – 38PTS), Tyler Sandhu (34GP – 8G – 30A – 38PTS)

WHO’S UP FRONT:

Morgan Geekie: Had the Ams’ lone goal last night which came in the third period. For the season now Geekie leads his team with 41 points and ranks second in goals with 17.

Tyler Sandhu: The 20-year-old Tri-City captain comes into tonight’s game with eight goals and 30 assists for 38 points. He’s tied with Michael Rasmussen for second in team scoring.

WHO’S ON D:

Parker Wotherspoon: The New York Islanders prospect had an assist on Geekie’s goal last night. He’s now cracked the 30 point mark for the season with five goals and 25 assists. He played a ton last night, and can be expected to carry the same type of work load tonight.

Dalton Yorke: The 20-year-old won’t ever set any offensive records, but his seven assists are complimented nicely by a +3 rating and 70 penalty minutes. Yorke plays a hard, physical and smart style of game and provides a nice compliment to the high-risk, high-reward style of Wotherspoon.

WHO’S IN GOAL:

???: The Tri-City Americans have three capable options in veterans Rylan Parenteau and Evan Sarthou along with rookie Beck Warm. Warm made his first start in seven weeks last night, and frankly was the Tri-City Americans best player. His 33 saves on 36 shots faced kept his team within striking distance. Given the quick turnaround it would seem likely that either Parenteau or Sarthou would get the start.

X-FACTOR:

Compete: The Tri-City Americans are going to be a team on a mission tonight. Last night’s loss certainly won’t be sitting well with that group of veterans and given how much skill and leadership is in that dressing room, the Cougars can expect a passionate, aggressive and determined Tri-City Americans club tonight during the rematch. They won’t want to head down the highway with no points in their pocket from this trip and they’ll be better tonight.

PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS

OVERVIEW:

Record: 23-8-2-0

Home Record: 12-5-1-0

Last Game: A 4-1 victory for the Cougars over the Ams. The Cougars have now won two straight.

Goals For/Goals Against: 119 GF/85 GA

Power Play: 17.1% (17th in WHL)

Penalty Kill: 87.3% (1st in WHL)

Leading Scorers: Jansen Harkins (27GP – 7G – 26A – 33PTS), Jesse Gabrielle (27GP – 19G – 12A – 31PTS), Brad Morrison (32GP – 13G – 18A – 31PTS)

WHO’S UP FRONT:

Jared Bethune: Snapped a nine game goal scoring drought with his second period power play goal. Bethune became the fourth Cougar to reach double digits for goals this season and now has 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points in 33 games this season with a +9 rating.

Josh Maser: Two goals in his first two games as a Cougar? Not bad for the young man from Houston, B.C. He’ll be in the lineup again tonight. He couldn’t score in three straight games could he? Of course he could! We’ll find out soon enough.

WHO’S ON D:

Josh Anderson: Chipped in with two assists for the Cougars to move his total to five on the season. The Colorado prospect now is a +9 and seems to have found some great chemistry alongside Joel Lakusta (who’s playing his best hockey ever right now). Though offense isn’t Josh Anderson’s top priority it’s nice to see the 18-year-old chipping in.

Brendan Guhle: Guhle had an assist in last night’s game and now has five goals and one assist for six points in six games since joining the Cougars. He’s been so reliable at all ends of the ice and hopefully that continues into tonight’s rematch.

WHO’S IN GOAL:

Ty Edmonds: The 20-year-old from Winnipeg is now 18-5-1-0 this season with a 2.08 goals-against-average and a .925 save percentage. His 16 save victory last night certainly wasn’t the most challenging game he’s played in his career, but he was there when called upon. He’ll get the nod again tonight for the Cats.

X-FACTOR:

Special Teams: The power play went two-for-seven, the penalty kill was four-for-four. Often times you win special teams and you win the game. Tonight the Cougars will be looking for a repeat performance in both areas.