No Show, No Problem

• Brett Connolly was a no show Friday night. His team didn't need him. The Prince George Cougars opened a six game homestand last night with a 3-2 win over the Kelowna Rockets. Much of the hype before the game centered around Connolly's return to the lineup from a hip flexor injury, but the 17 year-old was unable to play because of the flu. It was another 17 year-old, Brock Hirsche that scored the game winning goal on a third period power play leading the Cougars to the one goal win.
• Expect several NHL scouts to be on an airplane heading out of Prince George today after hoping to see Connolly play Friday night. The belief is the projected 1st round pick won't be healthy enough to play Saturday night when the two teams meet again, meaning all eyes will be on him when he dresses for the WHL during the Subway Super Series later this week in Victoria and Kelowna.
• The Rockets managed just seven shots in the opening period with three golden opportunities providing little in the way of results. Mitchell Callahan clings one off the cross-bar in the opening frame before Kyle St. Denis misses the net on a breakaway. The Rockets created scoring chances throughout the game but struggled when it came to execution.
• While the Rockets directed 40 shots at the Cougars net, how many resulted in point blank second opportunities? The answer. Very few. I'm sorry but Cougars goaltender Alex Wright may be a good goaltender, but he isn't great. On this night the Rockets made him look better than he really is.
• Rockets forward Geordie Wudrick scored his first power play goal of the season in the third period on a two-on-one passing play with Kyle St. Denis. St. Denis made a nice pass to Wudrick who one-timed the puck past Wright to make it a 2-1 game. Unfortunately Wudrick took a penalty resulting in the game winning goal with the 6 foot 3 forward sitting in the box.
• Tyler Halliday made his Rockets debut Friday night and started the game alongside Wudrick and St. Denis. I would suggest that Halliday's evening was uneventful other than a spirited chat he had with former teammate Kurt Torbohm after the veteran defenseman made a high hit that caught Halliday in the head.
• Rockets rookie forward Shane McColgan was given the night off. McColgan watched this one from the bleachers as a healthy scratch.
• The start of the game was delayed 15 minutes when a sheet of glass was shattered during the Rockets warmup. Instead of the scheduled 7 o'clock start time, the opening faceoff took place at around 7:15.
• The loss was the Rockets 7th straight on the road and 5th in a row.
• The win was the Cougars first in 10 games.