Cougars roar into WHL Playoffs 20l5

Brady Stark
Team Member

or the first time in four years, the

Prince George Cougars are in the
playoffs. Shedding an ownership group and
management team that did not care much
about the on-ice product, the Cougars came
out of the first half of the season with a
respectable record. They were atop the B.C
division on multiple occasions throughout
the year, but then January happened. It
seemed like all was lost as they went on a 12
game losing streak.

Everyone thought the Cougars were finished.
Neck and neck with the Kamloops Blazers
and the Tri-City Americans, the Cougars held
their fate in their hands. The Cougars needed
three out of six points from their last three
games in order to reach the third spot in the
BC Division and ended up with four, clinching
the last divisional spot. The Cougars face

the Victoria Royals in the first round of the
playoffs. Here is a preview of the series.

Goaltending: On paper, Royals’ goaltender
Vollrath would seem to have the edge

in net. However, even with a .905 save
percentage compared to Edmonds’ .894,
the goaltending battle could not be any
tighter. PG’s goalie, Edmonds, is streaky. In
the middle of the season, Edmonds admitted
he could not keep the puck out of the net,
but during the last two months of the
season, he had the best stats of any goalie
in February and March, and was the reason
the Cougars turned their season around.

Despite Vollrath having a solid regular
season campaign and doing well against
the Cougars over the season series, I am
giving the edge to the Cougars for the
sole reason that if Edmonds is on top of
his game, it will be hard to beat him.

Defense: Defense wins championships,
but that may not apply to this series.
Despite most of the regular season
matchups between these teams being
one-goal games, they were high scoring

affairs. With a defense core lead by World
Junior champion Joe Hicketts, the Royals’
goal differential has been much better
than the Cougars’. The Royals’ d-men are
not as offensive as the Cougars’, but they
make up for this by shutting down the
other team’s scorers and giving Vollrath
the opportunity to make key saves.

The Cougars’ defense has steadily improved
over the regular season, but in an unusual
way. Instead of cutting down on the amount
of shots their goalies face, the Cougars’
defense has learned to eliminate odd man
rushes, making sure they let their goalie see
the puck in order to stop it. Edmonds faces
less odd man rushes and scoring chances
from rebounds these days. The Royals do
not suffer from defensive breakdowns
though, giving them the edge on defense.

Offense: This matchup is a tale of two
offensive styles. For the Royals, the game
plan is to get the puck to the forwards
and capitalize on their opponents’
mistakes. They have been known

to play a run-and-gun offense,

without slacking on their defensive
responsibility. The Cougars
will have to keep an

eye on left winger
Austin Carroll, who
put up 77 points in
72 games for the
Royals while

still being a
two-way
player.
The

Royals’ offense is spread out over all
4 lines, having 8 players with over
50 points this season, compared to
the Cougars who only have 4.

The Cougars’ top two lines do almost all the
scoring and their defensemen sometimes
look like they hate their defensive
responsibilities. However, coach Mark Holick
has developed a new offensive system that
sees the defense quarterback the attack
without sacrificing defense. The Cougars
attack by having the defense make point
shots, creating rebounds and one-time

Sports 5

chances from the side of the net. Due to
this change, it will be difficult for Vollrath
to see the puck through screens or puck
movement. Because of this strategy, the
Cougars have been more dangerous, and

I give the edge to Jansen Harkins & co.

Prediction: Because the Cougars are riding a
hot streak into the playoffs and Edmonds is
ona roll, I give the edge to the Prince George
Cougars. I predict the Cougars win in 6 games.