In a shootout that seemed like it wouldn't end, Charles Inglis landed the Prince George Cougars in the Western Hockey League playoffs.
Friday night at the Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops, Inglis lifted the Cats to a dramatic 3-2 win against the Blazers when he beat goaltender Jeff Bosch in the sixth round of the one-on-ones. Inglis's marker eliminated Kamloops from post-season contention and, thanks to a 5-0 Friday victory by the Spokane Chiefs over the Seattle Thunderbirds, the Cougars locked up their own playoff spot.
While Inglis was the hero, he shared the spotlight with Cougars goalie Ty Rimmer, who turned aside seven Kamloops shooters in the shootout.
Inglis had a feeling he'd score.
"Rimms just kept making save after save and finally Charlie said to me, 'Listen, I've got this,' so I said, 'Go get it done then,'" said Cougars head coach Dean Clark. "It's just a great win for us. We've played really good on the road and to do it here [in Kamloops] is kind of nice."
The Cats and Blazers will meet again tonight at CN Centre, in the final game of the regular season for both teams. If the Cats win, they could finish in seventh place in the Western Conference standings and avoid a first-round match-up with the powerhouse Portland Winterhawks. The Cougars would instead get the Kelowna Rockets in the first round.
The Everett Silvertips are also in the running for seventh place.
In overtime, the Cougars were awarded a late power-play when Bronson Maschmeyer hooked Brett Connolly to the ice. On that four-on-three man-advantage situation, Prince George blueliner Martin Marincin blasted a one-timer at the Kamloops net but was robbed by Bosch.
The Blazers came oh-so close to a regulation-time win after the Cougars turned the puck over right in front of their own net. But, just before Kamloops forward Dylan Willick scored, time expired.
In the first 60 minutes, the Cougars scored both their goals in the first period. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Connolly's 44th and 45th markers of the season. On his first one, at 7:58, he broke hard to the net on the right side of the rink and took a pass from linemate James Dobrowolski. Once Connolly had the puck on his blade, he beat Bosch on the glove side.
Then, just 30 seconds later, Connolly struck again. This time, while the Cats were on a power play, the Prince George captain hopped on the rebound of a Taylor Stefishen shot and victimized Bosch again.
Before the period was done, Kamloops forward Bernhard Keil pulled his team into a 2-1 deficit. Keil beat everyone -- including Rimmer -- to a loose puck while the Cougars were changing their defensive pairings. Keil then flicked the puck past Rimmer, into the open net.
Thomas Frazee tied the score 2-2 at the 2:06 mark of the third period when he tipped in a backhand pass from JT Barnett.
The Blazers outshot the Cougars 29-27.
Attendance was announced at 5,088.
The opening faceoff tonight at CN Centre is at 7.
