The Prince George Spruce Kings and the Vancouver Canucks are at the 10-game mark while the Prince George Cougars play their 10th game of the season tonight (Friday).
(The Cougars would have been at 10 games by now had a game against Victoria on October 26th not been postponed, due to the Royals having travel issues getting off the ferry)
Here’s a brief look at the three teams and where they stack up in their respective league.
Standings:
The 7-3 Spruce Kings appear to be a strong contender in the BCHL, just a point out of the top spot in the Interior Division.
The 5-4 Cougars look like a middle-of-the-pack team in the WHL, although it is hard to get a proper read when they sit 5-0 against Victoria and 0-4 against the rest (o-3 against Kamloops and 0-1 vs Vancouver).
The 4-5-1 Canucks have struggled to score goals but appear to be like many teams bunched in the large group in the middle of the Western Conference standings in the NHL.
Home record:
The Spruce Kings are 4-1 in front of their fans, with that loss coming on Wednesday, as they dropped a 3-2 decision to the West Kelowna Warriors.
.@BCHLWarriors skate away with close shave against @SpruceKings
| https://t.co/MNcT4jVAKA #CityofPG #sports #TrueBlue #Spruce50 pic.twitter.com/UufQ1vTfpq— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) November 4, 2021
The Cougars are 3-2 at CN Centre but again the three wins have been against last place Victoria and the two losses against first place Kamloops
The Canucks are struggling at Rogers Arena. They lost their first three home games and needed a rally to win their 4th, erasing a 2-0 third period deficit to beat the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday.
J.T. Miller scored twice including the OT winner as the Canucks rallied to beat the Rangers.https://t.co/3ZHZFifQQF
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 3, 2021
Special Teams:
The Spruce Kings have the best power-play in the BCHL, at a whopping 40.5 % but their penalty kill is sixth in the 9-team Interior Division, at just 76.3 %.
It is the opposite for the Cougars who are strong on the penalty kill at 85.4 %, tied for 5th in the WHL, and tied for 18th out of 22 league teams on the power-play at just 13.5%.
The Canucks have struggled with both, sitting just 23rd out of 32 teams on the power-play at 15.8 % and tied for 28th on the penalty kill at 70 %.
Goals for and against:
The Spruce Kings have a plus 20 goal differential (43 GF and 23 GA) which is second-best in their 18-team league, only behind Penticton (plus 22).
The Cougars are plus 4 (32 GF and 28 GA)
The Canucks are minus 2 (25 GF and 27 GA)
Individual Scoring:
The Spruce Kings have three players in the league’s top-10 of scoring: John Herrington is 3rd (16 points in 10 games), Nick Rheaume is 4th (15 points), and Simon Labelle is tied for 7th (13 points). They also have three other players (Rowan Miller, Kilian McGregor-Bennett, and defenseman Dylan Schives) averaging nearly a point-per-game (all three with nine points in 1o games).
Riley Heidt is tied for 4th among all WHL rookies in points and he leads the Cougars in scoring with 11 points in nine games. He is followed by Craig Armstrong and defenseman Hudson Thornton with 9. (Thornton leads the team in plus-minus at plus 12, which is tied for 8th best in the WHL)
Win number one in the bag. Riley Heidt scored the game-winner late in the third as we pulled out a 3-1 victory Saturday night.#NorthernUprising
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) October 17, 2021
JT Miller leads the Canucks in scoring with 11 points followed rather surprisingly by Conor Garland with 10. Garland also leads Vancouver with a plus-6 rating followed by Quinn Hughes at plus 5.
Wrap-up:
Having played a small portion of the season means it is too early to make any credible assessment.
The early indications though show the Spruce Kings to be a challenger for the top spot in their league.
The Cougars and Canucks are not yet at that stage but they appear to be competitive and in the hunt.
Let’s see if these trends continue after twice this sample size.
#
Prince George Cougars coach and general manager Mark Lamb is this week’s guest on the Cat Scan podcast.
During the episode, Lamb discussed a number of topics including:
- The Cougars age as the youngest team in the WHL
- The defensive depth and the development of Hudson Thornton
- His philosophy on how to handle players who make mistakes
- How the presence of goalie Taylor Gauthier is rubbing off on Tyler Brennan
- Four Cougar players listed by NHL Central Scouting
CAT SCAN: @Hartley_Miller chats with @PGCougars bench boss and general manager Mark Lamb on this week’s episode of the podcast
| https://t.co/OnYlR7H4YK #CityofPG #sports #NorthernUprising pic.twitter.com/kvA42pw8JA— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) November 4, 2021
FROM THE QUOTE RACK
PETA wants baseball to stop using the term “bullpen,” saying it is a holding place for cattle about to be butchered and no place for pitchers. But still passing muster, for now: ducks on the pond, dying quail, gopher ball, and dog days of summer.
Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times http://www.seattletimes.com/author/dwight-perry/
Pitcher Ian Anderson of the Atlanta Braves was pulled after five innings in Game 3 of the World Series, despite having a no-hitter going at the time. That’s like pulling Rocky right after he defeats Spider Rico.
*Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
Yes, Ian Anderson was removed from a World Series game with a no-hitter in progress. No… this wasn’t about the state of pitching in the game today. https://t.co/JDjqB3G6Mc
— AlanCarpenterFS⚾ (@carpengui) October 30, 2021
As unvaccinated Aaron Rodgers fights COVID-19, in 2018 “Rodgers’ commitment to end childhood cancer & blood disorders earned the Packers quarterback
an honorary doctorate from Medical College of Wisconsin.” So, he believes in curing cancer but not vaccines? Has someone checked Rodgers for cumulative concussions?
*Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
The Washington Football Team’s new kicker, Chris Blewitt, has missed three out of five kicks since being with the team. And you don’t even want to know how badly their new punter, Joe Shank, is doing.
*Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg
In Case You Missed It:
The RCMP recently arrested an Ontario man for trying to sell Canadian navy shipbuilding secrets. Isn’t that like selling the Detroit Lions championship-building secrets?
*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)