Short-staffed, short-handed, and short on energy.
That’s how to describe the Prince George Cougars Wednesday night (Feb. 27) at the CN Centre, losing to the Spokane Chiefs 7-1 and their 12th consecutive setback on home ice in a row.
The visitors took advantage early in the contest, which included a goal 18 seconds into the game, taking off from there and bringing Prince George further down than what was expected.
Taylor Gauthier started in net for the Cougars, but was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals on 16 shots.
His replacement, back-up netminder Isaiah DiLaura, also faced 16 shots, but only let in two tallies from Spokane, who also clinched a playoff spot with the victory.
Prince George was without some key players; Cole Moberg is listed as week-to-week with an undisclosed upper-body injury, Ethan Browne suffered an upper-body injury in Tuesday’s tilt with Spokane (Feb. 26), and Ryan Schoettler sat this one out due to the flu.
Ilijah Colina is still away from the team on a personal leave.
The Chiefs enjoyed leads of 4-0 (after one) and 5-1 (after two) before netting a pair of third-period markers for the touchdown win (sans the extra point).
Prince George’s leading scorer Josh Maser potted the only puck in the tilt, coming 24 seconds into the middle frame while on a two-man advantage, for his 26th of the year.
Tyson Upper and Jack Sander provided the assists.
Chiefs’ alternate captain Jaret Anderson-Dolan had a five-point night, scoring two goals, both on power-plays, and adding three helpers throughout the game.
The setback drops Prince George’s overall record to 17-37-5-3 with six games left in the 2018-19 season.
They hit the road to Vancouver Island for back-to-back games in Victoria on Friday (March 1) and Saturday (March 2); puck drop is 7 p.m. each night.
The Cougars return home the following weekend for a series against the Portland Winterhawks, March 8 and 9.
Recap: Josh Maser scores team-leading 26th goal in setback to @spokanechiefs. | #NorthernUprising #WHL
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) February 28, 2019
📰 https://t.co/0JNzZtLHwE pic.twitter.com/mtnabEmX67
