They were on ropes, quickly got off of them, but took the final blow in the extra round.
The Prince George Cougars got to a second consecutive overtime game, earning them a critical point in the race for the final wild-card spot in the Western Hockey League (WHL) playoffs.
However, that all-important second point went to the Kelowna Rockets Tuesday night (Feb. 25), handing the Cats a 5-4 loss at the CN Centre.
The @Kelowna_Rockets topped Prince George in overtime Tuesday following a wild third period.
— The WHL (@TheWHL) February 26, 2020
WHL TONIGHT đź“° | https://t.co/8KsPhlxo3U pic.twitter.com/50fnOfNvpU
This was in spite of Prince George scoring three goals in the third period to eventually tie up the contest and force the extra end, thanks to Filip Koffer’s quick hands in the dying seconds of regulation time.
Three Cougars also had multi-point performances against the 2020 Memorial Cup hosts, including defenceman Cole Moberg, who contributed two goals to the home team’s cause.
The Chicago Blackhawks’ 2019 draft pick tied it up at 1-1 seven minutes into the opening period while on a power-play, nabbing assists from Ryan Schoettler and Josh Maser, after Kelowna initially broke the deadlock.
The Rockets scored the lone middle marker, only needing 21 seconds into the stanza to get to the 2-1 lead through until the next break.
After Kelowna got themselves a two-goal cushion under five minutes into the third, Moberg capitalized on another power-play halfway through to get the Cats within one on the board.
Schoettler and Maser also helped with his second of the night.
Connor Bowie then picked up the puck from the boards and found a lane past goaltender Roman Basran for his 11th of the year for the 3-3 tie.
When the Rockets’ Pavel Novak potted the 4-3 go-ahead goal and made it look like the visitors had it in the bag, but Koffer had other plans.
The Czech import jammed in a loose puck on the goal line in a scramble in front of Basran to square up the match at 4-4 with 19 clicks left and send the B.C. Division meeting to overtime.
Kelowna’s game-winner came with 2:17 left to walk out of Prince George with a 5-4 victory.
Cougars goaltender Tyler Brennan suffered his sixth loss as a starter in the 2019-20 season, stopping 23 of 28 shots.
The two teams meet again tonight (Feb. 26), 7 p.m. at the CN Centre with the Cats hosting its fourth annual Talk Today Game with the Canadian Mental Health Association.
