The Prince George Cougars got off to a picture-perfect start, setting the stage for a 3-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday night at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops.
The Cougars wasted no time, as Matteo Danis shoveled home his ninth of the season just 58 seconds in to give PG an early 1-0 lead. The Blazers responded at 4:26 when defenceman Kalen Anderlini scored his first career WHL goal, but the Cats quickly regained control.
Riley Heidt restored the lead at 9:30, and Patrick Sopiarz added another at 12:55, batting the puck out of mid-air to make it 3-1. Prince George carried that two-goal advantage into the first intermission.
Goaltender Josh Ravensbergen was sharp between the pipes, turning aside all 14 Kamloops shots in the opening frame. The Cougars pressed for more in the second period, but the score remained 3-1 heading into the final 20 minutes. The Cougars were outshot 33-31 and Ravensbergen picked up his 26th win of the season, tied with Spokane’s Dawson Cowan for the league lead.
Kamloops (18-28-4-0) made things interesting late. Jordan Keller capitalized on a power play at 13:42 of the third to pull within one. However, that was as close as they’d get, as the Cougars (30-15-4-2) locked things down to secure their 30th win of the season.
With the victory, Prince George improves to 13-12-1-0 on the road.
They started their trip Tuesday with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash., then beat the Kelowna Rockets Friday in Kelowna.
Prince George is now four points behind the BC Division-leading Victoria Royals (31-14-3-5) who defeated the Spokane Chiefs 5-4 in overtime Saturday in Spokane.
Up next, the Cougars return home for a showdown with the league-leading Everett Silvertips (37-8-4-3) on Friday and Saturday at CN Centre.
- with files from the Citizen
