Yesterday the Prince George Cougars were in Red Deer for their annual pre-season mini tournament. The Cougars had already won their first game over the Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday afternoon by a score of 3-2.
They would face off against the Calgary Hitmen, who lost to the Red Deer Rebels on Friday evening by a score of 5-3.
The Cougars got off to a great start in the game, keeping control of the puck in the Hitmen end for much of the first ten minutes. 6:18 into the period, second year hopeful Josh Maser scored on a crease-front scramble to give the Cougars the lead 1-0. They also led in shots at this point 6-0.
The tide turned finally for the Hitmen when Maser took a hooking minor. Calgary was able to put pucks on the net finally, all of which were turned aside by Cougars starting netminder Isaiah DiLaura. DiLaura would go on to make 17 saves on 17 shots in 33:47 of game action.
Through 20 minutes the Cougars would lead 1-0 and out shoot the Hitmen 13-10.
In the second, it was a parade of penalties for the Prince George Cougars. They took kneeing, roughing, delay-of-
game, too many men and slashing penalties in succession. They would go 35 seconds of three-on-five and not allow a single goal. The main reason the Cougars could weather the storm is that Colorado Avalanche 3rd round selection, Josh Anderson was a man on a mission. The defenseman was throwing body checks, blocking shots in the slot, taking on two Hitmen forwards at a time and dumping the pucks out of the zone at every opportunity.
From the upper reaches of the Enmax Centruim, Anderson could be heard voicing his displeasure with the calls to the refs, chirping the opposition and encouraging his teammates. He has made some big steps forward in becoming a leader for his team and you can tell by his on-ice play that he is ready to secure a leadership role with this hockey club. It remains to be seen if there is another player on the Cougars who wants it more than Josh Anderson.
The shots in the second period clearly reflected the time Prince George spent in the penalty box, the Hitmen could not get one of their 13 shots past either of the Cougars netminders. Prince George had just five shots in the frame, one of which could have been a goal if not for the heroic save by Matthew Armitage who had to make a big stop on a three on one during a Hitmen power play.
The third period would see the Hitmen and Cougars exchange goals. First rookie Zach Huber (00) would score an unassisted goal on the power play (their seventh opportunity). Just over five minutes later, returnee Ethan O’Rourke would score on a rebound to put the Cougars up for good.
It should be mentioned that 2002-born Cougars prospect Boston Maxwell was the best player on the ice for both teams. He had an assist on the opening goal for the Cougars and was playing in the tough areas throughout the game. Reid Perepluk was also noticeable for his speed all game, especially in the third period.
The Cougars end the pre-season tournament at 2-0 while the Hitmen go 0-2. The Hitmen’s next pre-season action is September 8th at the Winsport Centre in Calgary against the Edmonton Oil Kings while the Cougars will head to Langley Events Centre for a game against the Vancouver Giants.
