With COVID-19 vaccination rates in B.C. climbing on a daily basis, teams like the Prince George Cougars can really start to think about having all of their seats up for sale.
Doctor Bonnie Henry spent part of this week in P.G. and was sounding very optimistic that come the fall of this year we may not have to worry much about health restrictions.
3/3 Like Dr. Henry, we encourage everyone to get their COVID-19 vaccine.
More on how to get your vaccine, here:https://t.co/zLd8rQux8c #healthynorth #northernhealth pic.twitter.com/3ufGIJ8Anh
— Northern Health (@Northern_Health) June 23, 2021
She was asked in an interview on Wednesday with MYPGNOW about the possibility of the Cougars having a full house for their October 2nd home opener against the Kamloops Blazers should the team sell that many tickets.
Her response was quite encouraging.
“I think we probably should be in a good place to have a full capacity in October. We will just need to be careful as we get further into the winter,” said Henry.
“If we see a lot of sickness in the community, we may need to scale that back for a week or two or something like that. I really think we are going to be in a much different place very very soon,” added BC’s Provincial Health Officer.
B.C. is a leader when it comes to the number of people inoculated with 77.5% of all adults and 76% of those 12 and older have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
In addition, 25.9% of all adults in B.C. and 24.2% of those 12 and older have received their second dose.
In total, 4,652,087 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the province, 1,122,024 of which are second doses.
Over 25% of all BC adults fully vaccinatedhttps://t.co/ApGtDmUesk pic.twitter.com/34xmGnrKBC
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) June 24, 2021
This week I joined the list of B.C. residents that are fully vaccinated.
Having both shots of a vaccine does not guarantee a person will not catch the virus, but the odds strongly suggest one will avoid it.
Should a person be in that small group that comes down with COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated, then it could very well be a mild case.
Naturally, many businesses that include the Cougars, have been anxiously waiting for the official go-ahead that normalcy has returned.
The Cougars have arguably their best schedule yet, however, it should be pointed out that they will close with seven of their last eight games on the road.
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Our 2021-2022 regular season schedule is out.#NorthernUprising | #WHL
? https://t.co/hvyzpSwXG5 pic.twitter.com/PE0b5B2seH
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) June 23, 2021
24 of their 34 home games fall on the weekend, with 10 games on a Friday, 12 on Saturday, and two Sunday afternoon games.
They also have five home games on a Tuesday and five on a Wednesday, but none after mid-January.
One thing that is very familiar with the Cats schedule is that they have 14 home doubleheaders against the same team.
In a rare twist, Kamloops will make six trips to CN Centre, in other words, the Blazers will not play back-to-back games in Prince George.
For the first time in many years, the Cougars will play at home during the holiday season.
They host the Everett Silvertips on December 28th & 29th before entertaining Kamloops in a New Year’s Eve clash (special start time of 5 p.m.) on December 31st.
Prince George will open its 2021-22 regular season at home against the Blazers on October 2nd and also close its season at home vs. Kamloops on April 3rd.
The Cougars meet Kamloops and the three other B.C. Division teams (Kelowna, Victoria, and Vancouver) a whopping 12 times each.
Prince George will play the five U.S. Division teams (Everett, Portland, Seattle, Spokane, Tri-City) four times each.
There are no interlocking games between the WHL Western and Eastern Conference.
The WHL has unveiled the 2021-22 Western Conference Regular Season schedule, slated to begin Friday, October 1.
DETAILS ? | https://t.co/fFKKNQ37W6 pic.twitter.com/mz2Lo1RgNg
— The WHL (@TheWHL) June 23, 2021
Early in October, it will interesting to see how many people will want to watch a WHL regular-season game in P.G. for the first time in over a year-and-a-half.
Yes, attendance figures could arguably be as intriguing as the outcome of the game.
Taking Note:
Maine junior team putting Weiss behind bench . . . Hall of Fame beckons Recchi . . . Stringer turns 18, makes important decision https://t.co/SBQHP9mOiS
— Gregg Drinnan (@gdrinnan) June 24, 2021
FROM THE QUOTE RACK:
Stephen Colbert summed up the decision New Yorkers are facing today “who will replace Mayor Bill DeBlasio as the person getting booed at Mets games?”
*Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
Good thing that Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76’ers is from Australia, the Land Down Under—he was more prepared when, after a dismal playoff performance against Atlanta, his teammates and just about everyone else threw him under the bus.
*Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
Milwaukee withstood Kevin Durant’s record 48 points in a Game 7, beating the Nets 115-111 in OT. So despite the predictions of NBA experts, the Bucks didn’t stop there.
*Western Canadian comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com
Hartley Miller is the news and sports director/supervisor plus morning news anchor for 94.3 the GOAT and Country 97fm. He also is the radio color commentator for P.G. Cougars’ home games.
Hartley has been on the Prince George airwaves since 1979 and is the author of You Don’t Say (sports quotes).
His column appears Fridays on myprincegeorgenow.com.
Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to [email protected]