One may want to excuse Prince George hockey fans if they are feeling hopeful and excited.
The 2016-17 season is encouraging with early positive results.
After two months of play, the Prince George Cougars enjoy an eight point lead in the BC Division of the WHL, the Cariboo Cougars are the overall leaders by a point in the BC Major Midget League and the P.G. Spruce Kings are on a roll in the BCHL with a 6-2-1-1 record in their last 10 games.
There are no mid-November championships but winning early can often be a trigger for success late.
Expectations are rising and come the spring of 2017 there will confidence that Prince George will have high profile local teams in contention.
The (16-4-2) Prince George Cougars have demonstrated over a 22-game period that they are one of the three best teams in the WHL alongside the (15-0-3) Regina Pats and the (15-2-4) Everett Silvertips.
This week’s CHL top 10 has Regina at #1, Everett at #3 and Prince George at #5.
The Cougars with a plus 25 goal differential have been relentless on the road (10-1-1) and have also excelled against BC Division opponents (11-1).
The (12-1-1) Cariboo Cats have set the standard in the BCMML with a paltry 21 goals against in 14 games.
Cariboo has the Mac’s international midget tournament in Calgary over the Christmas break plus the league playoffs to help them reach peak efficiency by the time they host the Telus Cup Nationals April 24th to 30th.
The Spruce Kings are 10-2-1-2 when they don’t play either the Wenatchee Wild or the Penticton Vees.
Yes, they are 0-8 combined against the Wild and Vees but most of the other 14 BCHL teams have struggled against 17-3-1 Wenatchee and 19-4 Penticton.
The Spruce Kings have put themselves at least in the middle of the pack after a slow start.
The enthusiasm for these Prince George based teams is understandable but caution and an even keel approach remains paramount with the majority of the season to be played.
Many WHL teams will upgrade their roster at or around the January 10th trade deadline.
Because of their first place standing, the P.G. Cougars will be a measuring stick for other teams that may not have taken them as seriously in the past.
The Prince George Cougars can get a glimpse of where they stack up when they host Regina on Tuesday although it should be noted not to overemphasize one regular season game in the month of November.
The Cariboo Cougars have mostly been at or near the top for the last several years, but they will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to take it to the next level in the spring when they host the best midget hockey teams from around the country.
The Spruce Kings have improved immensely from last season but there resiliency will be put to a major test when they conclude with a whopping 15 of their last 16 games on the road.
The questions will not go away for these three teams, nor should they, with the more difficult
after Christmas schedule upcoming.
This is a welcome change that the Prince George Cougars, Cariboo Cougars and P.G. Spruce Kings are all earning respect in the same season from their supporters and opposing teams.
Winning is fun and to keep it up as the stage gets bigger is even a lot more satisfying.
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The Vancouver Canucks are not having fun having lost 11 of their last 14 games.
The Willie Desjardins watch as coach continues despite the come from behind 3-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes in overtime.
A couple of stats remaining alarming.
The 7-10-1 Canucks have an NHL worst -19 goal differential and they have given up the first goal in 16 of their 18 games.
They have made a habit of coming from behind, and they did it again against the Coyotes, but it’s inexcusable and taxing to the players to be put in this position so often.
Vancouver started 4-0 this season but that now seems like a distant memory.
From the Quote Rack:
Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts says he plans to ‘reach out’ to Steve Bartman. Hope it goes better than when Moises Alou reached out to him.
Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
The Atlanta Braves have signed both R.A. Dickey and Bartolo Colon to contracts for 2017. Well, since they can’t get Hank Aaron to play and draw fans into their new stadium, the Braves instead went for pitchers who pitched against him.
Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
World Chess Federation officials are concerned about a possible lack of interest in the upcoming championship tournament because a single game can take up to six hours to complete. “Amateurs,” said Major League Baseball.
Comedy writer Marc Ragovin
In Freehold NJ, biker Dan Barkalow stopped to help a fellow stranded rider whose chopper had broken down. It turned out to Bruce Springsteen. So of all the bikes sold in New Jersey, Springsteen bought one that wasn’t Born to Run.
Comedy writer TC Chong of Vancouver http://alwaysfunny.com/
And in case you missed it:
Metro UK reports Toblerone had to change the shape of their iconic three-sided chocolate bars. Looks like the New York Knicks aren’t the only guys having trouble with the triangle.
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
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
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