Rodgers Extends Point Streak To 5 In Cougars 5-1 Loss In Spokane

Friday, February 26, 2010 10:59 PM

Although the Prince George Cougars started a three game weekend trip south of the border with a 5-1 loss to the Spokane Chiefs, 20-year old Alex Rodgers continues to find the score sheet for the Cougars. Rodgers scored his team leading 19th goal of the season, a short handed goal no less, but the Chiefs scored two goals in the first period and three more in the second to pull away from the visiting Cougars.

The Cats were in search of their first win since February 10 when they defeated the Kamloops Blazers 4-2. They were running into a Chiefs squad that had won 9 of 11 games in the month of February and were desperate for a win to stay in contention for first in the US Division, trailing the Everett Silvertips and the front-running Tri-City Americans. It only took 1:16 for the Chiefs to get going on offence, when Brenden Kichton knocked home his third goal of the season for a 1-0 Chiefs lead. The Chiefs added to their score when Tyler Johnson bagged his 29th goal of the year behind Cougars starting goalie Hudson Stremmel for a 2-0 lead at 4:05. That's the way it stood through 20 minutes, with the Chiefs out-shooting the Cougars 12-6.

In the second period, Levko Koper scored a short-handed goal for Spokane to build a 3-0 lead just 40 seconds into the middle frame. But Rodgers would answer that short handed goal with his fourth short handed goal of the season at 6:34, beating Chiefs starter Michael Tadjdeh. For Rodgers, that gives him a five game point streak and at least a point in 13 of the last 16 games, with 20 points over that span, including eight goals. Rodgers was a point-per-game player in January and is above that average in February, with 12 points in 11 games. James Dobrowolski and Petr Senkerik had assists on the goal, giving Dobrowolski a three game point streak and Senkerik an assist in back-to-back games. But the Chiefs would score a power play goal at 10:44 from Johnson, who reached the 30 goal mark with the tally. Johnson, who was a member of the United States World Junior gold medal winning squad in Saskatoon in January, would get his hat-trick goal at 19:34. The shots were 14-8 for the Chiefs in the second period, who took a 5-1 lead into the dressing room.

There was no scoring in the third period and the Cougars out-shot the Chiefs 7-6, but the Chiefs finish the season series with three wins in the four match-ups with the Cougars. The final shots total was 32-21 in favour of the Chiefs. The Cougars, who fall to 11-49-1-2, went 0-for-7 on the power play while the Chiefs earned one power play goal on four chances.

The Cougars make their way to Everett for a date with the Silvertips Saturday, the first of three in a week between the two clubs, who haven't squared off since the Cougars pulled out a come-from-behind 3-2 shoot-out win on December 11. The Cougars will play their third game in as many nights Sunday in Portland, before returning home to take on the Tips at CN Centre next Friday and Saturday, with both games starting at 7:00. Next Friday's game is Tour Your Own Town Night, where various local and regional attractions will host interactive booths on the concourse throughout the evening. Tickets are available by calling Ticketmaster at 250-564-5585.

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