Prince George, Prince Albert At Spokane Chiefs

Time: Tonight in the Coliseum against Prince George at 7; Sunday in the Coliseum vs. Prince Albert at 6.

Records: Spokane (23-32-1), Prince George (14-39-3), Prince Albert (37-18-2).

Radio: KGA-AM (1510) 6 p.m. Chiefs Talk with Craig West, 6:20 Mike Babcock Show, 6:50 pregame.

Tickets: $9.50 and $7.50, with seats in the blue section discounted to $6.50 for seniors, military, children under 14 and students with I.D.

Key players

Spokane: C Jason Podollan (37 goals, 26 assists), GK Jarrod Daniel (3.73 goals-against), D Sean Gillam (13, 38), RW John Cirjak (16, 28), LW Greg Leeb (18, 27), RW Jeremy Stasiuk (19, 22), LW Kevin Sawyer (5, 6), C Darren Sinclair (11, 13), C Trent Whitfield (4, 13).

Prince George: C Steve Dowhy (36 goals, 34 assists), D Ryan Smith (4, 34), RW Shawn Gendron (16, 11), RW Ronald Petrovicky (5, 12), LW Chris Low (10, 8), GK Chris Mason (4.59 goals-against).

At a glance

Stasiuk, who sat out Wednesday night’s win over Red Deer, is back after a league-mandated one-game suspension for a checking from behind major. As part of a strong forechecking line with Sawyer and Sinclair, Stasiuk will probably give the Cougars fits. Prince George could be in for a long night trying to clear out of its defensive zone. The Cougs have recently injured scoring leader Dowhy back but are hurting without defenseman Sheldon Souray, who’s out with a separated shoulder. RW Chris Petersen (15 goals, 10 assists) is also among Prince George’s injured no-shows. Watch Chiefs GK Daniel flirt with his long-awaited shutout. Podollan is on fire and he, too, is tough to deal with. Last in the WHL West Division, Prince George has only a fading hope of catching Portland for the final playoff spot. Mindful of that, Cougars owner Rick Brodsky traded heavily two weeks ago with an eye to the future. What he got brought criticism throughout the league, but at home the moves are seen in a different light. “They had to do it,” Cougars beat writer Ed Mills said. “You find anyone in Prince George critical of those moves. They watched the guys who were traded play all year.”

The tough test is Sunday night. The Prince Albert Raiders, leaders of the WHL East, had won six of seven on the road heading into Friday night’s game at Saskatoon.