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Ex-teammate spoils Prince George Cougars’ victory date with Moose Jaw

Cougars retain point in 3-2 overtime loss to Warriors
Kyle Balzer
Kyle Balzer
Cougars-Warriors-Leppard 2019 home
Jackson Leppard (#8) battles for the puck against the Moose Jaw Warriors at the CN Centre (via Prince George Cougars/James Doyle Photography)

For a second consecutive game, 60 minutes didn’t solve anything between the Prince George Cougars and their opponent.

Tuesday night’s game saw the home team fail to hold onto a 2-0 lead, eventually losing in overtime by a score of 3-2 on a comeback by Moose Jaw.

On Sunday (Jan. 20), the Cougars also lost 3-2 in an extra frame to Kamloops.

The game-winner was scored by Justin Almeida 30 seconds into overtime, who was traded from Prince George to the Warriors in January 2017 in exchange for Nikita Popugaev.

The Russian eventually left the Cougars to play professional hockey in his home country.

Almeida, a former Cariboo Cougar and Kitimat, B.C. native, also notched an assist at the CN Centre, improving his season stats to 61 points (15 goals, 46 assists).

The single point allowed Prince George to earn six points in the six-game homestand with a record of 2-2-2.

With Taylor Gauthier absent, competing in the 2019 NHL Prospects Game in Red Deer tonight (Jan. 23), back-up goaltender Isaiah DiLaura stopped 13 shots in his first start since December 30th.

Ilijah Colina and Vladislav Mikhalchuk scored the two goals for the Cougars in the first and second periods respectively.

Tristin Langan and Jett Woo, also a Vancouver Canucks prospect, tallied for Moose Jaw in the second and third periods before winning in overtime.

Cougars forward Josh Maser did not play Tuesday night as he’s been suspended by the Western Hockey League (WHL) for three games following an incident in Sunday’s match with Kamloops.

Prince George’s record now drops to 16-24-3-2 in a tie for fourth in the BC Division and two points back of a wild-card spot.

The Cougars are now off on a Alberta road trip this weekend, with games in Calgary (Jan. 25), Red Deer (Jan. 26), and Edmonton (Jan. 27).

They’ll continue with a brief two-game road stint to Kamloops (Feb. 1) and Vancouver (Feb. 2) before returning home Feb. 5 and 6 when the BC Division-leading Giants make a visit.