When goals are not met, disappointment often follows.
The Prince George Cougars had high expectations entering the 2015-16 WHL season, most notably to make noise in the playoffs by winning a round or two.
The Cougars were an improved team but that is just a consolation prize after they were swept by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the first round.
“It`s definitely not fun ending your junior hockey career especially on a losing note, so it`s obviously a tough feeling, but that is the way it happens sometimes, so you just have to live with it,” stated the Cougars career leader in goals (120) and points (239), Chase Witala, reflecting on a five year (302 games) WHL career in his hometown.
On one hand, two of the four games were decided in overtime, but on the other hand, Seattle outscored Prince George 16-6 in the series and had one stretch where they tallied 10 consecutive goals.
“I`m proud of what we accomplished here this season. Obviously disappointed we didn`t make headway in the playoffs, but as far as our effort is concerned, night in and night out, I think for the most part our guys laid it on the line,” said head coach Mark Holik, who has a 101-121-20 regular season record since taking over behind the Cats bench.
It should be noted, however, the Cougars record has improved in each season since Holik came to Prince George.
Under the 47-year-old Holik, the Cougars were 7-17-2 in his brief stint in 2012-13 after he replaced the fired Dean Clark.
The Cats were 27-37-8 in 2013-14 and followed that up going 31-36-5 in 2014-15 and 36-31-5 in 2015-16.
Optimism for coaches, players, team employees, club volunteers and the fans was sky high at the Christmas break with a quiet confidence that this could be their year to excel.
After crushing the Victoria Royals 8-2 on December 19th before 5,560 excited fans on Teddy Bear toss night at CN Centre, the Cougars were second in the B.C. Division (behind Kelowna) at 21-11-2 and tied in points with the Royals.
The after Christmas Cougars went 15-20-3 to slide down to 4th in their division, a whopping 29 points behind 1st place Victoria.
Prince George lost its last five regular season games before the quick post-season exit.
In addition, The Cats also dropped 12 of their last 13 road games, a total that includes the playoffs.
This begs the question, did the Cougars overachieve in the first half or underachieve in the 2nd half of the season?
The Cougars can look back on accomplishments that helped propel average attendance from 2,852 to 3,122, an increase of 9.5 per cent, the second biggest increase on a percentage basis in the WHL (behind Lethbridge).
In the two years under the hard working new ownership group, attendance for Cougars games has nearly doubled from the 1,693 average total in the 2013-14 season.
The fans though continue to be starved for playoff success.
Attendance actually dropped significantly for playoff games this year compared to last.
In 2015, the two home playoff games (on a Wednesday and a Thursday) against Victoria attracted 4,202 fans for game three and 4,448 for game four, which is a total of 8,650.
In 2016, the two home playoff games (on a Tuesday and Wednesday) against Seattle attracted 3,491 fans for game three and 3,010 for game four, which is a total of 6,501 or a decline of 2,149.
Yes, there`s always next year and in the Cougars case, the team will try to move from middle of the pack (13th out of 22 in overall points) to upper echelon.
They only carried four 19-year-olds this season in addition to the full complement of three overage players.
The Cougars were among the younger teams with 10 players aged 18, six 17 and two 16.
They have up to 21 players returning which includes both goalies, Ty Edmonds and Nick McBride.
The 2016-17 season will determine if the Cougars are on the right track to becoming a bonafide contender or like most teams, a pretender.
From the Quote Rack:
Nice “aww” story, A young boy ran on the basketball court in New Orleans to give Carmelo Anthony a hug. Of course, it could have ended badly – the kid could have dunked on the Knicks.
Contributor Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
A Syracuse man with a potential $50,000 NCAA basketball bracket neglected to pick the winner. When did Leon Lett move to Syracuse?
Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey has been told to urinate more frequently to prevent the bladder infection that nearly derailed his opening day start. When asked what changes he might now have to make to his routine as the season progresses, Harvey said he will “just go with the flow.”
Contributor Marc Ragovin
A North Carolina man was arrested for failing to return a VHS rental tape from 14 years ago to a now defunct video store. The outstanding fine is $200. On top of that, there’s a 50 cent fee if he didn’t rewind it.
Comedy writer TC Chong of Vancouver http://alwaysfunny.com/
And in case you missed it:
The OJ Simpson murder case is known briefly as The People v. Simpson. What will that make Fox sportscaster Erin Andrews’ 55-million lawsuit? Andrews v. The Peephole?
Comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com
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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