Hartley Miller's Slapshots - December 14th Edition

By Hartley Miller

  At the conclusion of this weekend’s doubleheader against the Kamloops Blazers, the Prince George Cougars will be half way through their 72 game regular season schedule.

The Cats record (11-22-1) is no where near .500, so therefore this leaves them far below pre-season expectations. With 14 losses in their last 16 games, it is safe to say that those in the Cougars organization won't be celebrating the festive season.

Of course, 2007-2008 wasn’t suppose to have been a banner year (are any of them?).  However, with players such as Team Canada cuts Dana Tyrell and Ty Wishart on the team, no one imagined the team’s poor performance.

There is no need for a mid-term report card because passing grades are few and far between.   However, here are a few items worthy of note:

Penalty Kill:  The penalty kill is roughly 71 percent, which puts the Cats as worst in the league, and perhaps, one of the worst in CHL history.

Regulation Losses:  Of the team’s regulation losses, nearly two thirds have been by more than two goals. In other words, more often than not, the Cougars have not even been competitive.

Consistency:  PG has been out-scored and out-shot in each of the three periods. Well, at least you can’t say the team lacks of consistency.

Plus-Minus:  Speaking of consistency! Every regular player on the team, who played at least half the games, has a negative plus-minus rating.

Roster Changes:  The Cougars roster should look younger at the Jan 10th trade deadline. A Ty Wishart deal is expected, but the Cats may not get as much in return as they think he is worth. The Cougars need to move, or release one of their goalies and bring in a prospect. Greg Gardner has been the best of the three overage players, but that doesn’t say much. Is there really a need to go with three 20-year-olds when the club is already holding auditions for next season?

Giving up:  Speaking of moves! I realize Chris Vanduynhoven wasn’t playing to his capabilities, but was the assistant captain a bit of a scapegoat?  Giving up on an experienced 18-year-old defenceman (in a trade with Chilliwack) for a 4th round pick seemed rather odd. Vanduynhoven may not have been the team’s best defenceman, but he certainly wasn’t the worst.

Attendance:  The downward spiral in attendance figures reflect the team’s non competitive season. By the way, there sure must have been many staff Christmas parties last Saturday because with the amount of people that were actually at CN Centre (not the 2561 tickets sold) to see the 3-2 overtime loss to Prince Albert, they could have easily fit into the Coliseum.

Motivation:  Motivation will be difficult in the New Year, especially with playoffs a long shot. In fact, is there any reason to play the entire WHL second half knowing that in all likelihood Portland and PG (Western Conference), and Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Red Deer (Eastern Conference) will be the teams missing the post-season. If you check the standings it’s hard to imagine any one of those six qualifying. Well, so much for the new playoff format adding drama and excitement down the stretch.

Prince George recently experienced a cold spell that lasted for what seemed like weeks. But this weather is pale in comparison to the city’s WHL team that has been in a deep freeze with no end in site.

From the quote rack:

“A federal judge has sentenced Michael Vick to 23 months. That's 161 dog months"Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California

“Leona Helmsley's dog, Trouble, who inherited $12 million, has fled to Florida under an assumed name after receiving numerous death threats. Doesn't Michael Vick have anyone else he can call from jail?"Bill Littlejohn

“Prison officials said they're not treating their celebrity inmate any differently, although they did allow him the small joy of electrocuting the turkey." Comedian Dennis Miller, on Michael Vick, spending American Thanksgiving at the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warshaw, Va.

“Penn State accepted a bid to travel to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. Which is appropriate, because Joe Paterno is one of the few coaches who actually does "Remember the Alamo!"Comedy writer Janice Hough (www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com) of Palo Alto, California.

“A new report from Statistics Canada says 1 in 5 Canadians were born elsewhere and 50% of those were fathered by (Denver Broncos running back) Travis Henry.”
Contributor Derek Wilken of Calgary (http://smacksport.blogspot.com)

“He was one of the greatest bluffers in history. It was three days before anyone would believe he was really dead."  Comedian Argus Hamilton, on the passing of three-time World Series of Poker champion, Chip Reese.

“It doesn't seem like much, but for his wife, that's an entire meal." Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News, after New Zealand soccer fans auctioned off a half-eaten corn cob, a single french fry and an unfinished bottle of pop that soccer great David Beckham left behind during his visit there.

And in case you missed it:

The Dolphins and Steelers came close this season (with Pittsburgh winning 3-0 on a last second field goal) but the last time there was a 0-0 game in the NFL was 64 years ago.

And how was your week?

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