Prince George - SPORTS - Free Press
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Friday, December 20, 2013
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Cougars head to break Team wins two of three on last road trip fell 6-3 to Spokane before downing Vancouver. “I thought we were very good on Friday,” Holick said. “We played a good solid game.” Three games in three days on Todd Fiddler led the attack for the road is tough enough for a the Cougars with hockey club. two goals and an When you’re assist. the Prince George As well as the team Cougars, and those played Friday, Holick three games are the said they were misslast ones before the ing that on Saturday Christmas break, in Spokane. it could be even “It was all on us,” tougher. he said. “We got “The guys stuck down 4-0 after the with it,” head coach first period, and you Mark Holick said afcan’t do that in this ter the team wrapped HEAD COACH MARK HOLICK league. We got three up the weekend trip of those back in the second, but with a 3-1 win in Vancouver. that was it.” “Sometimes they’ve got one foot Sunday, he had reason to wonon the plane, ready to go home for der what state of mind and body the holidays.” his team would be in as they faced The Cougars started the trip the Giants. with a 5-1 win in Tri-City, then
Allan Wishart allanw@pgfreepress.com
“We didn’t get to Vancouver until about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, and we had to play at 5 p.m., so it didn’t give us much time. We were running on fumes for a while. “The guys responded really well.” After spotting the Giants a 1-0 lead after the first period, Jordan Tkatch and Zach Pochiro scored in the second, and Klarc Wilson added an empty-net goal with one second lft. Ty Edmonds continued to carry the load in goal with Brent Zarowny still injured. “Ty’s got the experience now,” Holick said. “We’ll ride him as far as he’ll go.” One place Edmonds will be going, but without his teammates, is to Calgary on Jan. 15 for the annual CHL Top Prospects game. Edmonds will play on Team Cherry as one of 13 players from the Western Hockey League.
Cariboo Cougars return to home ice delayed Allan Wishart allanw@pgfreepress.com For the Cariboo Cougars, the road trip lasted a bit longer than expected. Because of the labour dispute involving city employees, the Cougars played Saturday’s BC Major Midget Hockey League game against the Greater Vancouver Canadians in Fort St. James, before playing at CN Centre for the first time in eight games on Sunday. The first game back in familiar surroundings didn’t feel like home, as the Canadians thumped the Cougars 10-2 to get a split of the weekend series. The Cougars won the opener in Fort St. James 3-2. “Saturday, we played well most of the game,” said Cougars coach Bryan MacLean. “We were up 2-0 and they tied it up, but we stuck with it and Jesse Roach finished nicely on a three-on-one break for the winner.” The goal was Roach’s second of the game, with Colton Thomas also scoring. Jeremy Matte got the win in goal, making some key saves to keep the score tied at 2-2. As for Sunday, “we weren’t ready to play,” MacLean said. “You can’t spot a team that many goals in this league and expect to come back.” The Canadians scored three times in the first eight minutes, and never looked back. Isaiah Berra scored for the Cougars in the first period to narrow the deficit to 3-1, but the Canadians scored again later in the period, then added four more goals in the first seven minutes of the second period.
Kyle Comin had the Cougars’ other goal. Now, it’s back on the road for the Cougars, and a crucial matchup with the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds. “This is a huge matchup for us this weekend,” MacLean said. “The Thunderbirds are one point behind us in the standings, so this will be like playoff hockey. We still have to learn to be ready to play every game. This is a chance to get some separation in the standings.” The next home game for the Cougars is Jan. 11 when they host Vancouver North East Chiefs.
ALUMNI GAME Kamloops Blazers defenceman Josh Connolly will be on the ice at CN Centre on Dec. 23 as the Cariboo Cougars renew an annual holiday tradition. Connolly will be among the nearly two dozen graduates of the Cougars program to return for the alumni game. “It’s fun going back, playing with some of the guys you played with, playing with the new guys,” Connolly said. “I enjoyed it last year and it should be fun this year as well.” Connolly has fond memories of the time he spent playing for his hometown team in the BC Major Midget League. He said his time with the Cougars helped him prepare to take the next step in his hockey career. Other Cariboo Cougars’ alumni scheduled to play in the game include Tyson and Chase Witala, Ryan Howse, Jake LeBrun, Chase Astorino and James Morrison. Game time is 7 p.m. on Dec. 23 at the CN Centre.
“He deserves to be in the game,” Holick said of the rookie goalie. “He got off to the hot start for us, then had a bit of a bumpy ride, but he had a really strong road trip this weekend.” The Cougars come back from the Christmas break with games Dec. 27 and 28 in Victoria and Dec. 30 in Vancouver. Their next home games are Jan. 3 and 4 when they host Kamloops.
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