Welcome to Prince George

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, April 8, 2007

So I’ve arrived in Prince George. You can tell we’ve ventured into the deep north as it’s nearly 8 p.m. and the sun is still visible above the horizon, not to mention the temperatures are expected to be below freezing the next two nights.

Of course, the big news out of Prince George today is Eric Hunter’s broken ankle. The Cougars’ captain went down during the first period of Saturday’s Game 2, won 3-2 in OT by the Silvertips, and did not return. When it happened no one knew the extent of the injury. Now we know, much to the Cougars’ chagrin. Needless to say, Hunter will not return in the series.

Hunter’s loss is a significant blow for the Cougars. Not so much from a leadership standpoint as Prince George has plenty of veterans on the roster, including a very Everett-like six players listed as alternate captains. But Prince George’s one potential advantage over Everett in this series was in offensive gamebreakers. Hunter was one of those. Without Hunter, the offensive gamebreaking ability of the two teams looks pretty even. With Everett having the edge on defense and in goal, not to mention a 2-0 series lead, it’s going to require a Herculean effort for the Cougars to win this series.