Rebels Edge Cougars 2-1 At CN Centre

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 09:28 AM

Three newcomers to the Cougars line-up played well, but unfortunately couldn't help bring an end to the Cougars current losing streak. The Cats have now dropped five in a row after falling 2-1 to the Red Deer Rebels Wednesday night at CN Centre, which was the start of a seven game homestand for the Cougars.

Tyler Halliday returned to the Cougars line-up and joining him on the Prince George roster on Sunday's trade deadline day were defenceman Petr Senkerik and goaltender Kyle Jahraus. Those two made their Cougars debut Wednesday, facing a Rebels team that had dropped three straight games and were playing the second game of a five game road trip in BC. The Cougars and Rebels exchanged chances in the first period, with Jahraus making tough stops in close on Rebels forwards, while at the other end, Darcy Kuemper was keeping the Cougars off the board with timely saves. The ice would finally get broken late in the opening period when 16-year old rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins came off the left wing boards in the Cougars end and snapped a high wrist shot over Jahraus' glove hand for a 1-0 Rebels lead. Nugent-Hopkins earned his 18th goal of the season at 18:09. The Cougars out-shot Red Deer 11-10 in the opening 20 minutes.

In the second period, the Rebels took the play to the Cougars early on, but Jahraus kept shutting the door. But the Rebels would add to their lead at 16:09 on the power play when Landon Ferraro went cross ice with a pass to Andrej Kudrna, who then one-timed a shot past Jahraus from the right wing side, giving Red Deer a 2-0 lead. Kudrna notched his 20th goal of the year and Nugent-Hopkins earned his second point of the game with an assist, along with Ferraro. The Rebels took that two goal lead into the dressing room after 40 minutes, out-shooting the Cougars 11-7 in the middle stanza.

The Cougars, though, would break through at the 3:56 mark of the third period. Senkerik played the left point and held the puck inside the blue line, quickly firing a shot on goal that was tipped home by Jaroslav Vlach, bouncing past Kuemper to cut the Rebels lead to 2-1. The goal is Vlach's third of the season and Senkerik got his first point as a Cougar with the assist. Unfortunately, however, the Cougars could not get a second goal to tie the game, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Rebels and drop their record to 9-33-1-1. The Cougars had the advantage in shots in the third at 12-7 and in the game at 30-28. The Cougars power play struggled, going 0-for-5, while the Rebels went 1-for-4. Red Deer improves its record to 23-17-0-4.

Next up for the Cougars is a date with the Vancouver Giants and for the first time in a long time, the Cougars will be looking for back-to-back wins over the Giants, after defeating Vancouver on the West coast December 30, 4-1. Friday is Minor Hockey Night and Jersey Night. Fans are encouraged to wear their favourite jerseys to the game for a chance to win prizes throughout the night. Game time is 7:00 and tickets are available by calling Ticketmaster at 250-564-5585.

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