Game Day at Prince George

Boys made the long trek north to Prince George for a two-game series starting tonight.  The big story of course is that the Cougars are not the same team they've been the last couple seasons.  Last year they only won 12 games.  This year they've already won 6 and are in 2nd place in the BC Division.

The two big names for PG are Brett Connolly who spent most of last season in the stands, injured.  But he oozes talent and was drafted this summer, 6th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning.  He's stayed healthy so far this year and has 18 points in 11 games, 11 of those goals.  For those of you keeping track at home, that's averaging a goal a game.  Not too shabby.

The other named bandied about when talking about PG is recent acquisition Sena Acolatse.  Ams fans should be familiar with him, he played for the Seattle Thunderbirds for what seems like forever.  I swear he's got to be like 29 by now.  I hated him with Seattle (because he's good) and I'm sure I'm going to hate him with PG.

One of the names you don't hear so much when talking about PG but you should is former American Spencer Asuchak.  He's 2nd on the team in goals scored with 6.  I, for one, am really glad to see him doing so well.  Just hope he hits a slump the next two nights.

The Americans will continue to be without Shinnimin of course, but also Kruise Reddick.  Jeeeze Louise it'll be nice to get those two back in the lineup.  That being said, mad props to the other guys for stepping up their game.  Depth is key to this team, and they haz it.

I would like to see more shots blocked--poor Drew has faced the 3rd-most shots (308) in the league, behind Freisen in Swift Current (375) and Heemskirk in Moose Jaw (357).  That's a lot.  Obviously, the addition of Stebner will, theoretically, help that.  A lot.

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"It's a 14-hour bus ride when you win, but it feels like 28 when you lose," said Tri-City coach Jim Hiller of the trek to northern British Columbia. "It's always a tough building to play in. It will be one of our biggest challenges of the season. They were young last year, but they have some key guys like (Brett) Connolly, and they have added some dangerous players."

"I think this will be a good test for us," Clark said. "They are a good team and have been for quite a while in the league. If we make some of the mistakes we made (Wednesday) night against Tri-City, we wouldn't win. We have to be a lot better. Bob has done an excellent of retooling and they will be a team to reckon with come down to the end" (Herald)

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Yahoo's Jim Riley looks at how Reddick and the Americans are dealing with adversity:

After Shinnimin's lengthy suspension was announced for a check from behind penalty on Oct. 6 in Saskatoon, Reddick was quick to step up and declare that this was an opportunity for a good team to get even better.

"We knew there were guys in the dressing room who would have to step up and take on bigger roles," Reddick said. "We addressed it and guys have been playing their hearts out. That's what we needed. He (Shinnimin) plays hard and is a great player, but we had to accept it and move on. "

Reddick declined to give his opinion about the length of the suspension, preferring to concentrate on the silver lining.

"Now with me out as well, a lot of guys are going to get to play more minutes and take on bigger roles," Reddick said. "We were already a tough team and this is going to make us even tougher. I think we reacted to it just fine.

He thinks this Tri-City team could be the best he's played on and doesn't back down when asked which team he considers to be the best team in the WHL this year.

"I don't want to sound cocky, but I'd have to say our team right now," Reddick said. "We have the depth to do well and we're showing that now. There are plenty of other great teams like Portland and Everett and Saskatoon, but I think we can play with all of them."  (Buzzing the Net)

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The WHL announced their rosters for the Subway SuperSeries yesterday and one of the games will include the Americans' Brendan Shinnimin.  He's slated to play in the November 17th game in Kamloops.  You can find the complete roster and schedule here.

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If anything else comes along today I'll update the post, but that's about all I got for now.  Click on the "Read More" to get to the liveblog