How’s that for a backs-to-the-wall drag-em-back-to-PG response from the Prince George Cougars?
Facing playoff elimination Friday in Game 5 in Portland, Ore., the desperate Cougars came up with their most complete effort of the playoffs so far, swamping the Portland Winterhawks 7-2 to get back into WHL Western Conference quarterfinal fight.
They still trail the series 3-2 but they’ll be coming home to the human zoo known as CN Centre to play in front of what’s expected to be a sellout crowd when they take on Portland in Game 6 Sunday night (6 p.m.), with a chance to take it to the limit on home ice in Game 7 on Monday.
Matteo Danis and Koehn Ziemmer each scored twice and the Cougars got singles from their other big guns — Riley Heidt, Terik Parascak and Borya Valis — to complete their lopsided victory.
“When you look at it, it’s a seven-game series for a reason and you’ve got to win four and so we did a good job coming back in Game 1 and we did a good job coming back in Game 5 and the adjustments we made — we did a really good job changing our forecheck and dragging more pucks towards the net and we started on time,” said Cougars associate coach Jim Playfair.
“It’s old saying but we did a good job of being ready to play and got the first goal and we haven’t done that all series. That gave the boys more energy and more of a belief that we could do things correct and stay consistent.”
Three unanswered goals in the third period broke it wide open.
The Cougars were leading 3-1 to start that final period when just 12 seconds when Danis made it a 4-1 game, scoring his second of the game and team-leading fifth of the series. Aiden Foster took the puck to the net with a burst of speed and Danis followed up on the rebound, chipping it high over Ondrej Sebetak’s shoulder. The goal was reviewed by the officials but it was determined there was no goaltender interference.
The Winterhawks’ power play, operating at a 31.8 per cent clip (7-for-22) through the first four games, finally connected again on Portland’s third manpower advantage of the game. Alex Weiermair batted in a rebound for his fifth of the playoffs 6:24 into the third.
But the Cougars squashed that momentum from the home side in a hurry with goals 40 seconds apart. Both Cougar goals came as a result of turnovers. Parascak stole the puck from Diego Buttazzoni at the Cougars’ blueline and took off on a breakaway, rifling a shot under the glove of goalie Sebetak.
Then at 8:39, Valis intercepted a Joel Plante pass and cruised into the slot unimpeded to whip in a shot for his third of the postseason.
For the first time in the series the Cougars scored the game’s opening goal. ‘Hawks defenceman Ryder Thompson fanned on a clearing attempt long the halfway in the Portland end and Lee Shurgot dug the puck out for Heidt, who took it on his backhand and had just enough time to lift a shot in before two Portland checkers closed in on him. Heidt’s second of the series came nine minutes into the first period.
Heidt missed Game 4 with a suspension and he had plenty of jump from the get-go. His first shot in the opening minute was a ripper from the slot and Sebetak had to be especially careful on that, the first of six unanswered shots from the Cats to start the game.
Ravensbergen, who made 48 saves in Game 4, looked dialed-in early again on Friday stopping 35 of 37 Portland shots.
Danis made it a 2-0 game late in the first when he let the shot got from the left circle and the puck deflected in off the leg of Winterhawks defenceman Cole Slobodian and found the net just inside the post.
Portland cut the lead in half and it was Thompson, the 20-year-old defenceman, who atoned for his earlier mistake. He toe-dragged the puck off while skating up the left wing and used Corbin Vaughan as a screen to score his first of the playoffs.
It was by far the Cougars’ best opening 20. They’d been outscored 9-4 in first periods in the first four games combined.
The Winterhawks came out the aggressors in Period 2 and held the zone for sustained minutes but were unable to get much rubber of Ravensbergen thanks to his shot-blockers, namely Danis, Jett Lajoie and Bauer Dumanski. The 18-year-old goalie came up with big blocker save to deny Fort St. James native David Hoy and Plante just missed the net on the rebound. Not long after that, Ziemmer was sprung on a breakaway pass and tried for the backhand deke but Sebetak got his pad in the way.
Ziemmer had six shots on goal and finished with a plus-3 rating.
The teams were playing 4-on-4 late in the period when Prince George restored its two-goal cushion. Carson Carels carried the puck in and laid a shot from a sharp angle that bounced off Sebetak’s pads and the Cougar defenceman went behind the net to track down the loose puck. He spotted Ziemmer cruising in through the slot and fed him for a quick tap-in through the goalie’s legs. That came seconds after Cougars centre Ben Riche deflected a shot off the goalpost.
Carels had another exceptional game and the 16-year-old finished with three assists.
The Cougars had nothing to lose but their season and they didn’t let that pressure get to them. They looked relaxed on the ice and didn’t panic against a lethal Winterhawks offence that averaged 5.5 goals though the first four games of the series.
Cougars defenceman Viliam Kmec played 55 minutes on Wednesday, more than any other player in that epic Game 4, which ended 17:47 into the second overtime period on a goal from Portland centre Buttazzoni.
The Cougars got another boost with the return of Dumanski, their top shutdown defenceman, who sat out Wednesday’s game with an unspecified injury.
“His ability to defend the rush, to move pucks up the ice, to block shots he’s such a calming presence back there - it allows you to use the rest of the group correctly and that’s what’s really important," said Playfair. "Having Riley up front, who’s your leader and he can to create offence and Bauer on the back end to stabilize and complete the identity on the back end.
“Portland’s been fortunate. In the playoffs you’ve got to be healthy and you’ve got to have a lot of breaks go your way. We’ve taken way too many penalties for sure and we’ve dealt with a couple injuries. Now we get on the right side of injuries and the right side of discipline and hopefully we can start making more consistent longer stretches of solid play.”
LOOSE PUCKS: Tickets for Sunday’s game are available now on the Tickets North website. The CN Centre box office opens Saturday at noon ... The Medicine Hat Tigers booked their spot in the second round after a 3-2 win on home ice over the Swift Current Broncos in Game 5 Friday. Ryder Ritchie notched the winner in the second period. It was the final WHL game for former Cougar Carlin Dezainde … In other Eastern Conference results, in Lethbridge, the Hurricanes finished off the Brandon Wheat Kings with a 5-2 win. Lethbridge winger and Prince George native Miguel Marques had two assists ... In Prince Albert, the Prince Albert Raiders beat the Edmonton Oil Kings 4-2 to extend that series to a sixth game in Edmonton with the Oil Kings leading 3-2 … The Calgary Hitmen are already through to Round 2 after they swept Saskatoon on Wednesday … The Victoria Royals ended the Tri-City Americans’ season with a 7-0 win Friday in Victoria that gave the Royals a 4-1 series victory … The Everett Silvertips tied up their series 2-2 after a 6-2 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash., with that series going back to Everett for Game 5 on Sunday … The Spokane Chiefs will try finish off the Vancouver Giants, leading that series 3-1 with Game 5 Saturday in Spokane.
