Cougars Season Ends With 4-2 Loss To Rockets Wednesday

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 11:22 PM

The Prince George Cougars saw their 17th season come to a close at the hands of the Kelowna Rockets Wednesday night at CN Centre, falling 4-2 in game 4 of the Kal Tire Western Conference Quarter Final series.

The Cougars fell behind 3-0 in the best of 7 series with a 7-6 loss in game 3 and for the second straight game the Rockets got on the board first. Zak Stebner pounded home a loose puck at 11:00 for a 1-0 Rockets lead on the power play. The Rockets nearly went up 2-0 on another power play in the first when Colton Sissons appeared to have an empty net to shoot at, but Ty Rimmer reached back with his goal stick to make a dazzling save to keep the deficit at one for the Cougars. The Rockets had an 11-8 lead in shots through one period.

The Rockets upped their lead to two when Damon Severson scored at 3:27, blowing a shot over the glove side for a 2-0 Kelowna lead. The Cougars had a 5-on-3 power play later in the second and made it count for the second straight night. Sena Acolatse ripped home his Cougars high third goal of the series, blasting the water bottle off the Rockets goal on a one-time shot at 9:59. Martin Marincin and James Dobrowolski earned the assists. The Cougars out-shot the Rockets 12-10 in the middle frame and for the first time in the series were trailing going to the third down 2-1.

In the third the Cougars had a turn of events that cost them the tying goal and saw the Rockets reclaim a two goal lead. Dobrowolski appeared to score by banking a shot from the left wing side behind Adam Brown. However, referee Derek Zalaski called the goal back, claiming Taylor Stefishen impeded Brown from making a save in the crease. The tough no-goal call was immediately followed by Shane McColgan banging home his own rebound through Rimmer's legs for a 3-1 Rockets lead at 4:14. The Cougars came back to within a goal at 8:15 when Alex Forsberg, the first overall pick by the Cougars in the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft, knocked home his first WHL goal to make it a 3-2 Rockets. But McColgan would end the scoring in the series by banging home his second of the game at 10:31 for a 4-2 Rockets lead and eventual win, sweeping the series in four straight. The Cougars out-shot the Rockets 15-10 in the third and 35-31 in the game. The Cougars went 1-for-6 on the power play and the Rockets were 1-for-4.

The Cougars and their fans exchange a salute to each other at the end of the game, with Wednesday being the last WHL game for 20-year olds James Dobrowolski, Sena Acolatse and Taylor Stefishen. The next order of business for the Cougars is preparing for the 2011-12 season with the WHL Bantam Draft taking place on May 5 in Calgary. The Cougars hold the 10th overall pick.

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Posted on Wednesday, March 30, 2011 11:22 PM in Sports by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: Maverick on March 31 2011 6:55 AM

God the Cougars SUCK! Not one full capacity game this year then a sweep in the first round!

Posted by: verballabel on March 31 2011 8:14 AM

They were second to last in the playoff seeding, what do you expect? They are not the kind of team that can make a come from behind win.

Wait and see what next year holds.

Posted by: giterdun on March 31 2011 9:17 AM

verballabel... If we have the same owner, next year will hold NOTHING!

Posted by: verballabel on March 31 2011 9:27 AM

@giterdun - Agree 100%. I am hoping that someone or something happens that initiates a removal of the Brodsky family. They should be ashamed of themselves to let this town watch our WHL team lose out every season (even teams like Tampa bay, or Carolina in the NHL get to win once and a while)

I remember back to the late 90's when the multiplex was the place to be on the weekends to watch hockey, with standing room only most games.

Posted by: giterdun on March 31 2011 9:57 AM

verballabel... If we have the same owner, next year will hold NOTHING!

Posted by: faxman on March 31 2011 10:17 AM

I won't be buying season's tickets next year.

Posted by: NMG on March 31 2011 1:25 PM

Sadly, it isn't a surprise. Except for a few seasons shortly after the team came to PG, this franchise has a dismal history when it comes to on ice success. Any other business would have had to close their doors if they had a product this bad, because nobody would spend their money there.

"Luckily" for Brodsky, there are 1,500 absolute die hard fans out there that still show up. These would be the people who still go to their favourite restaurant even though everyone else in town has given up as a result of the food poisoning they had received multiple times in the past.

Like a bad restaurant, the only way the customers may return is if there is a change in ownership and a complete overhaul of the operations. The current management team has simply proven their inability to run a successful hockey team.

Posted by: NMG on March 31 2011 1:26 PM

Oh and when I say run a successful hockey team, I don't mean the "behind the scenes" stuff, I mean when it comes to achieving on-ice success as measured by wins, losses and championships. Obviously the Brodsky's have the ability to run a business, etc.

Posted by: Resident on March 31 2011 6:09 PM

And Dallas keeps his losing record in tact.

Posted by: Palopu on March 31 2011 8:29 PM

Dont forget that the City and Brodsky signed a new agreement last year. The City gave up getting 12% of the gross ticket sales and settled for a percentage on a sliding scale depending on ticket sales.

What this meant was as the number of ticket sales declined the City got a smaller percentage of the gross, however Brodsky continued to get the larger portion. This is how he managed to stay in business with declining ticket sales.

As a result of the low attendence and the decrease in the Citys portion of revenue, the City (Taxpayers) are subsidizing the Couger franchise to the tune of something like $80,000.00 per year. (+-).

Seems to me that the Cougers when they were in Victoria (Before coming to Prince George) had a terrible record, which was one of the reasons they moved.

Maybe its time they packed their bags and left town. After this year they have no where to go but down, and there is not much room for that.

Move the Spruce Kings into the CN Centre and use the Coliseum for regular skating, and recreational hockey, and **bobs** your uncle.

Posted by: cougs78 on April 3 2011 9:19 AM

What will you clowns say when the Cougars win 40 next year! I don't like Brodsky either, but short of a goalie the team could compete with any team in the league this year. When they fill that position they will be fine. Thwey were on par with Vancouver this year, but they have real fans not whiners like we have here. Yes this city is full of whiners! Look at the crowds for Road to the Roar. Blame that on Brodsky too!

Posted by: canuckfan1974 on April 5 2011 3:27 PM

Hey cougs78... you need to wake up, theres no chance the cougars will win 40 in a year under the watchful eye of the brodsky family. I've been a big fan of the cougars since the day they moved here but today i'm losing interest not on the team but the way the team is run, what I mean is that at any other team if its the WHL,AHL or even the NHL that a team is not performing as expected changes are made and well over the years we've seen many of them but all in the area of the coaching staff where most teams would start looking at the GM position but not here it will never happen cause of thompson is the owners son in-law and thats not how to run a business especially in the WHL or any league. The team comes first above all else including family and until brodsky realizes that and replaces thompson the cougars as a franchise will never acheive. Look at phoenix 12 yrs and never gained a profit some good yrs but nothing shown, I just wished that Brewer, chara, hamhuis and the rest of the partnership put another offer on the table to purchase the team or the city should cause under brodsky's rule this team will never win a championship.