Do the Prince George Cougars have the psychological advantage over the Victoria Royals?
The two teams meet tonight (Friday) and Saturday at CN Centre and then each of the following two weekends in the provincial capital.
That’s right, the next six games for the Cougars are against the Royals.
(Victoria has its next four against Prince George, then two at home vs. Kelowna, followed by two at home against P.G.)
On one hand, the Cougars are struggling, riding a six-game overall losing streak and a nine-game home losing skid.
On the other hand, playing the Royals may be exactly what the doctor ordered.
Prince George is 7-0 this season against Victoria, outscoring the Royals convincingly over that stretch by a 29-10 margin.
The scores have been 3-2 (Oct 16), 4-2 (Oct 17), 5-1 (Oct 22), 4-1 (Oct 23), 4-0 (Oct 27), 5-3 (Jan 18) and 4-1 (Jan 19).
The Cougars desperately need a win on home ice this weekend as they conclude eight straight in front of their own fans.
If you are wondering when was the last time Prince George won on home ice, the answer would be nearly seven weeks ago.
Not surprisingly, it came against the Royals on the 19th of January.
Victoria is behind P.G. in the standings because of those head-to-head results.
The Royals are 16-26-5-1 against teams not named Prince George while the Cougars are 12-31-2-1 against teams not named Victoria.
The Cougars, Royals, Vancouver Giants, Spokane Chiefs, and Tri-City Americans are in the hunt for the final three playoff spots in the Western Conference.
The (15-33-5) last place Americans appear to be a long shot to make it, sitting six points out and having to overtake two teams.
The (19-31-2-1) Cougars are tied for 7th with the (18-31-4-1) Chiefs, two points behind the (20-29-3) Giants, but more importantly just three ahead of the
(16-33-5-1) Royals.
Vancouver has 16 games remaining, Prince George 15, Spokane 14, Victoria 13, and Tri-City 15.
The top eight in the conference advance to the post-season.
This leaves Victoria and Tri-City currently on the outside looking in.
The Cougars have just six home games remaining compared to nine on the road.
The Royals have eight at home (two of them against Spokane on the final weekend of the season) and five on the road.
When Victoria last played Prince George, the Royals did not have their full line-up, however, they were not missing several “key” players.
Comparing Victoria’s last game in P.G. on January 17th to the Royals last game, a 5-2 loss to Portland on Wednesday, there were five changes.
However, only one of them could be considered an impactful player and that is their captain Tarun Fizer who has 37 points in 25 games.
A strong argument could be made that the Cougars losing streak is more mental than physical.
Prince George though has a seven-game winning streak against Victoria and that should have more weight since that is its upcoming opponent.
Sometimes who you play dictates how you play.
The Cougars success this season against the Royals should be a psychological boost in their next half-a-dozen games.
Winning the mental war is much more than half the battle.
Cat Scan podcast:
Stuart Kemp of @pdxwinterhawks Booster Club is this week’s Cat Scan podcast guest. He discusses his recent trip with the Booster Club to PG, his daily health battles, and his pro wrestling career that has taken a toll on his 55-year-old body. @PGCougars https://t.co/r0oTYGa3Xs
— Hartley Miller (@Hartley_Miller) March 10, 2022
Taking Note:
WHL attendance not a pretty picture . . . Oil Kings win 12th straight . . . BCHL reinstates one Nanaimo coach https://t.co/tsymzaoj6D
— Gregg Drinnan (@gdrinnan) March 10, 2022
FROM THE QUOTE RACK:
The NFL became the first sports league to drop COVID-19 protocols. There were never any protocols on the New York Jets wide receivers because they can’t catch anything.
*Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg
Atlanta WR Calvin Ridley was suspended for at least a year by NFL for betting on games. He apparently placed parlay bets involving 3, 5 & 8 games while on the injured list -all including Falcons to win. The Falcons to win? Wonder if Ridley asked for clemency by reason of insanity?
*Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
In the wake of Phoenix Mercury centre Britney Griner being detained in Moscow on drug charges, there is a video that is now required viewing in the WNBA. It’s called ‘Midnight Express.’
*Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
Seattle’s Roosevelt High School is staging the ABBA musical “Mamma Mia!” with help from 10 members of the football team, who answered the call after not enough boys tried out for the show. Just call it the second Music City Miracle.
*Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times http://www.seattletimes.com/author/dwight-perry/
In Case You Missed It:
A Gallup report showed that Sunday is the day we spend the most time doing things we aren’t good at. Especially, if you’re a Jacksonville Jaguar.
*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).