GAME PREVIEW: Nov. 20th vs. Tri-City
Last Game: The Prince George Cougars are winless in their last four after a 4-3 setback against Tri-City Friday. The Cougars trailed 4-0 midway through the second period last night before rallying for three-straight goals. Jonny Hooker, Ryker Singer, and Hudson Thornton scored in defeat. Thornton finished with two points. Goaltender Tyler Brennan started the game but was replaced by Taylor Gauthier at the midway mark of the second period. Brennan stopped 20 of 24 shots. Gauthier stopped all 12 he faced. The power-play went 2-5 and the penalty-kill was 4-5.
Tonight’s Game: Tonight, is the second of four meetings against the Tri-City Americans. This weekend is the first time since February 2020 the Cougars are playing a U.S. Division opponent. After this weekend’s doubleheader, the two teams meet again in Kennewick, WA on Dec 4th. Tr-City has won four of their last five games in Prince George. The Cougars are trying to snap a four-game losing streak and they have won just three of their last 10 games.
| Season Series vs. Tri-City |
| Nov. 19th vs. Tri-City 4-3 L |
| Nov. 20th vs. Tri-City 7:00 pm |
| Dec. 4th at Tri-City 6:05 pm |
| Feb. 1st at Tri-City 7:05 pm |
Prince George Cougars
General Manager & Head Coach: Mark Lamb
2021-22 Record: GP 16 6-10-0-0 (4th B.C. Division)
Home: 4-6-0-0
Streak: 0-4-0-0
Last Game: 4-3 loss vs. Tri-City Americans (Nov. 19th)
Scoring Leaders
| Riley Heidt 4-8-12 |
| Craig Armstrong 5-6-11 |
| Hudson Thornton 3-8-11 |
| Jonny Hooker 6-3-9 |
| Viliam Kmec 1-8-9 |
Game Notes
- Tonight, it’s CHL Leave Your Mark night, as the Cougars are wearing speciality designed jerseys designed by 13-year-old Bishop Carter. The Jerseys will be auctioned off HERE to support the fight against childhood hunger.
- Prince George is 1-4-0-0 on their current six-game home stand. They started the home stand with a 1-0 win against the Vancouver Giants on Nov. 9th but have lost four in a row since and have been outscored 17-8 in those four games.
- One silver lining in last night’s defeat was the power play. It had gone through a real tough stretch in the last month but the Cougars scored twice on the man advantage and at key times. before last night, the power play was 2-42 in the last 12 games. Hopefully a confidence boost for the special teams.
- The one glaring issue during the losing streak has been the Cougars’ starts. Friday, they were down 2-0 in after 20-minutes and 4-0 midway through the second. On Nov. 12th against Kelowna they went down 3-0 and back on Nov. 10th against Vancouver they were down 2-0 early. Prince George has been outscored 16-8 in first periods this season. They need to start on time tonight.
- Jonny Hooker scored his first goal since Oct. 22nd in Friday’s loss, snapping a nine-game drought. His power-play goal last night was his third of the season, which is a team best. That could be the goal that gets the piano off his back.
- Defenceman Ethan Samson is playing in his 100th career WHL Regular Season game tonight.
- Goaltender Taylor Gauthier is tonight’s projected starter. He stopped all 12 shots he faced in 30-minutes of relief work Friday.
Tri-City Americans
General Manager: Bob Tory
Head Coach: Stu Barnes
2021-22 Record: GP 13 4-7-2-0 (4th U.S. Division)
Away: 2-2-1-0
Streak: 2-0-0-0
Last Game: 4-3 win vs. Prince George Cougars (Nov. 19th)
Scoring Leaders
| Parker Bell 5-6-11 |
| Connor Bouchard 2-9-11 |
| Sam Huo 4-4-8 |
| Marc Lajoie 2-5-7 |
| Tyson Greenway 1-6-7 |
Game Notes
- 17-year-old Nick Avakyan recorded his first career WHL win last night. The Glendale, CA product stopped 23 shots.
- The Americans’ 36 shots last night was a new season high. Their previous was 30 which was set the game before, Nov. 13th against Portland.
- Tri-City has won back-to-back games for the second time this season. The only other time was their first two games of the regular season against Portland and Spokane.
- Goaltender Cole Tisdale won his first start as an American on Nov. 13th and has yet to lose in regulation this season. He’s a combined 4-0-0-1 between Kelowna and Tri-City this season. He has solid number too, sporting a 2.42 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. He also has one win against Prince George under his belt.
- The Americans have made roster moves in recent weeks. Two weeks ago, they shipped goaltender Talyn Boyko (’02) to the Kelowna Rockets for goaltender Cole Tisdale (’02) and a third-round pick in 2024. Forward Landon Roberts (’02) was sent to the Brandon Wheat Kings on Oct. 31st, for a 7th-round pick in 2024. On Oct. 22nd the Ams acquired forward Ethan Ernst (’02) from the Rockets for a seventh-round pick in 2022.
- Tri-City has won four of their last five games in Prince George.
