The smiles said it all as the Prince George Cougars mobbed goalie Cooper Michaluk in his crease and the celebration was on Saturday night in Spokane.
What a night it was for the 19-year-old Edmonton native.
Not only did he beat the team that gave him his baptism as a junior hockey goaltender 2 ½ seasons ago, ending their 10-game winning streak, but he came within one shot of shutting out those Chiefs in their own backyard, stopping 33 of 34 shots in a 3-1 victory.
Acquired in a Sept. 26 trade for a fifth-round pick in 2027, Michaluk earned his second win in eight starts since he joined the Cougars, and you can bet his 23rd career Western Hockey League victory will always stand out as something special to the veteran puckstopper.
Riley Heidt returned from his world junior team tryout in Ottawa and had to make a few plane connections to get to Spokane in time. It didn’t take him long to show why he was among that select group invited to Hockey Canada’s camp.
He opened the scoring 8:38 in with slick move to get free of his check before he lifted a backhander in behind Chiefs goalie Dawson Cowan.
That was Heidt’s 99th career WHL goal.
The Cougars scored two more in the second period and Borya Valis had a hand in each. He forced a turnover behind the goal line and fed the puck to Koehn Ziemmer, who found the net for his team-leading 22nd goal. Ziemmer now has 113 goals in his career, seven away from Chase Witala’s team-record 120.
On the third goal, Valis was parked in the right spot near the net late in the period and used his stick to redirect Hunter Laing’s shot to make it 3-0.
The Chiefs finally solved Michaluk in the final minute on a Spokane power play, with Cougar defenceman Corbin Vaughan serving an elbowing penalty. Ten seconds into the penalty, Chiefs defenceman Brayden Crampton took a shot that found its way through traffic.
The Cougars outshot the Chiefs 38-34.
Ziemmer left the game in the second period when he took a puck in the face, an errant shot from Heidt that kept the doctor busy with a needle and thread to stitch up the wounds to his cheek and eyebrow.
The Cougars, who started their trip with a 4-3 shootout win over the Tri-City Americans Wednesday, then lost 4-1 in Portland on Friday, will wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule Tuesday in Kelowna.
The Cougars (17-9-3-2) hold top spot on the BC Division, tied in points with Victoria, each with 39. Prince George ranks fifth overall in the WHL, also tied in points with the Medicine Hat Tigers, who have more wins (19), but have played three more games than the Cougars.
The Everett Silvertips lead the WHL with 53 points, followed by Spokane (44) and Tri-City (41).
After Tuesday’s game, the Cougars have a 10-day gap between games. They’ll reconvene Dec. 27-28 in Victoria for a two-game set with the Royals and also have a New Year’s Eve date in Seattle before those two teams come back to Prince George for a doubleheader at CN Centre Jan. 3-4.
