Ty Edmonds appears to be back to his early season form and that may be the most encouraging sign for the Prince George Cougars with their most important games yet to come.
Edmonds had the WHL best save percentage the first half of the season but his play tumbled early in the New Year.
There was even a stretch in January and February where back-up Nick McBride started six of eight games.
The 19-year-old Edmonds was superb in the 3-2 shootout loss in Kelowna stopping 38 of 40 shots to earn first star status.
He was second star in his previous appearance, a 4-1 win over Spokane.
Edmonds, who has 2.69 GAA with a .914 save percentage, also posted a shutout against the Chiefs the previous week in Spokane.
The Cougars will be an underdog whether they play Kelowna, Victoria, Seattle or Everett in the Conference quarter-finals but they will have at least a 50-50 chance of an upset if Edmonds can stop pucks like he did Wednesday against the Rockets.
Goaltenders face the most pressure, arguably more than any other position in sports.
Edmonds has had his share of up and down moments in his three years in a Cougars uniform.
He is having his strongest season, yet his scrutiny will intensify when he faces the biggest test of his career in just two weeks when the playoffs start.
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The Victoria Royals may have the best record in the WHL (45-16-3-3) but the (36-27-3-2) PG Cougars have enjoyed moderate success against them.
The two teams have met six times this season with each team winning on three occasions.
In fact, the three doubleheaders have all ended in splits.
The Cougars and Royals, separated by 19 points, have another two-game set as they meet twice this weekend on the Island.
Victoria is trying to hold off second place Kelowna with the Rockets just three points back with a game in hand.
P.G. is trying to finish 3rd in the BC Division.
The Cougars and Kamloops Blazers are tied in points with four regular season games remaining although Prince George holds the tie-breaker based on more wins.
The WHL has just six 40-goal scorers this season and that includes a pair from the Cougars, Jesse Gabrielle and Chase Witala plus Tyler Soy of the Royals.
The 20-year-old Witala is the Cougars all-time leader in points and goals leaving his mark in his final season in Major Junior.
Victoria has given up the fewest goals in the 22-team league, thanks in part to ex Cariboo Cougar goalie Griffen Outhouse, who despite being a rookie, leads the WHL in both GAA (1.84) and save percentage (.937).
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The prospects remain bleak for a team from Canada qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Four of the bottom five positions in the Western Conference and three of the bottom five in the Eastern Conference are Canadian teams.
In the overall standings; Montreal is 21st, Ottawa 22nd, Vancouver 23rd, with Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto occupying the bottom four spots at 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th.
The Habs and Senators are six points from a post-season berth and the other five are 10 or more out.
sportsclubstats.com gives Montreal a 2.6 per cent chance of making the playoffs, Vancouver is 1.2, Ottawa 0.4, Calgary 0.2 while Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto are all great big fat 0 per cent.
At least the odds are overwhelming a Canadian team lands the first pick in this year’s draft where American Auston Matthews is considered a can’t miss prospect.
Then again with Canada’s misfortunes, Matthews will end up in Columbus, Buffalo or some other U.S. city.
From the Quote Rack:
Jeopardy will reportedly no longer feature Canadian competition. Just like the NHL playoffs.
Comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com
President Obama trolled Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau over the country’s Stanley Cup drought. A Cubs fan trolling someone on a title drought?
Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
A statue in honour of Shaquille O’Neal is to be placed outside Staples Center in LA. For nostalgia’s sake, it will be erected in the general vicinity of where his free-throw attempts used to land.
Brad Dickson of the Omaha-World Herald
Astronaut Scott Kelly says he grew two inches in space and now he can’t sink a basketball shot. Hmm, so is this the explanation for big men like Shaq and DeAndre Jordan and free throws? They’re really from a different planet?
Contributor Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
Dallas Mavericks owner says the NBA should move the 3pt line back. This is probably to counteract Golden State’s Stephan Curry’s proficiency for scoring from there. If Mr. Cuban was the PGA Commissioner many years ago, he’d have extended driveways for certain golfers as well.
Comedy writer TC Chong of Vancouver http://alwaysfunny.com/
And in case you missed it:
Long-time tennis analyst Bud Collins has died. Is it fair to call his final words a passing shot?
Contributor Marc Ragovin
Hartley Miller is the sports director and morning news anchor for 94.3 the Goat. He also is the 94.3 radio color commentator for P.G. Cougars home games. His column appears Fridays on
myprincegeorgenow.com. Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to [email protected]
Follow him on twitter: @Hartley_Miller
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