The Prince George Cougars just keep on winning hockey games.
And they’re back in first place because of that.
They collected seven straight with a 4-3 win over the league-leading Everett Silvertips Saturday at the Angel of the Winds Arena. This win marks the Cougars’ first victory in Everett since December 2019.
With the Victoria Royals losing 2-1 in overtime Saturday to the Spokane Chiefs in Victoria, the Cougars leapfrogged the Royals back into first place in the BC Division.
The Cougars (38-19-4-2) and Royals (36-16-3-7) each have 82 points but the Cats get the higher seed based on the fact they have two more wins than do the Royals. Victoria has six games left and the Cougars are down to their last five.
Ben Riche scored two goals and Cooper Michaluk stopped 29 of 31 shots to earn his seventh win of the season.
The Cougars wasted no time getting on the board, striking early at the 3:53 mark with a one-time blast from Viliam Kmec to take a 1-0 lead. For the 20-year-old Kmec it was his 17th goal of the season and seventh in the past nine games.
Late in the period, Koehn Ziemmer delivered a massive hit on Everett defenceman Landon DuPont, which led to a fight moments later between Ziemmer and Carter Bear. Prince George held onto their 1-0 lead through 20 minutes.
The Cougars lost the services of Washington Capitals first-rounder Terik Parascak 2:49 into the second period when he was forced to leave the game after a scary collision with Everett winger Jesse Heslop. Heslop was ejected with a major penalty and game misconduct. Parascak did not return.
At 10:37, the Cougars extended their lead to 2-0 as Riche perfectly redirected a shot from Corbyn Vaughan in front of the net. Everett responded with a power-play goal at 13:16 to cut the deficit in half.
However, Borya Valis quickly restored the two-goal cushion, stripping an Everett defender of the puck and making a slick move to the backhand to put Prince George up 3-1. The Cougars then ran into penalty trouble, and Everett capitalized with another power-play goal in the final 20 seconds of the period. Prince George carried a 3-2 lead into the third.
The final frame was nothing short of chaotic. Everett opened the period on the power play, but the defence pairing of Bauer Dumanski and Viliam Kmec blocked numerous shots throughout the penalty kill, with Michaluk making several key saves.
The Cougars then struck again as Riche rifled home a one-timer from the slot, thanks to a great setup by Jett Lajoie, to extend the lead to 4-2. The Silvertips, however, refused to go away, making it 4-3 at the 4:44 mark. Everett applied heavy pressure, hemming the Cougars in their own zone multiple times, but the Cats did a tremendous job blocking shots and making timely plays. Despite being outshot 15-3 in the third, the Cougars held on for a thrilling victory.
Stats and standouts
- Riche scored twice in the victory, one of which was the game-winning goal;
- Michaluk earned his second straight win with a terrific performance, making 28 saves;
- Lajoie had a fantastic night collecting two assists and was +4
- Valis scored his 32nd of the season and also finished the game +4
- Vaughan earned an assist and was +3. He played against his twin brother Jaxsin, Silvertips forward, for the first time in their hockey careers
What’s next?
- The Cougars conclude three games in three nights tomorrow when they face the Vancouver Giants at 4 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre
- Next Game: Sunday, March 9 at Vancouver, 4 p.m.
- Next Home Game: Friday, March 14 vs. Wenatchee, 7 p.m.
With Citizen files.
