The Prince George Cougars are hoping their trip to Portland won’t result in the pain of history repeating itself.
Just like last year in the WHL Western Conference final, the Cougars won the first game, but Portland came back to win the next, splitting the series before heading south to Oregon for the next three games.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, they lost Games 3 and 4, which put them under pressure to win the next three games to advance to the WHL final.
They won Game 5, but their season ended in double overtime in Game 6 at Prince George’s CN Centre with a 2-1 loss to Portland.
That was a year ago, and much has changed for both teams.
Just nine Cougars and seven Winterhawks who played in that heartbreaker at CN Centre remain with their respective teams.
Mark Lamb, the Cougars' head coach and general manager, doesn’t put much stock in what happened a year ago or in 2022, when Portland swept the Cougars in the first round.
“If you want to do those comparables, they’ll drive you crazy,” said Lamb.
The Cougars won a thrilling Game 1 on Friday, scoring four goals in the third period to overcome a three-goal deficit. Terik Parascak scored the OT winner 6:40 into the extra period.
Game 2 swung in the Winterhawks' favour thanks to their special teams play. They scored on two of their three power plays while the Cougars went 0-for-3. Although Portland won 5-2, the game was still a one-goal contest with three minutes left.
Up to that point, the Cougars had few free passes into the offensive zone, and when they did manage to take a shot, it usually came from the perimeter, where goalie Ondrej Sebetak could see the puck.
“They played a very smart third period, obviously aware of what happened (Friday) night, and did a good job of keeping everything to the outside,” said Lamb. “But we need more from our top guys. You look at their team, and it was all the big guys who did the damage (Saturday). We just need more. We didn’t score on the power play, and they scored a couple on theirs, and there’s the difference. Their power play’s clicking, and ours isn’t. We need to score on them.”
They also need to find a way to neutralize Diego Buttazzoni.
The 19-year-old UMass-Lowell recruit entered the playoffs on an 11-game point streak and has three goals and three assists in the series, along with 13 shots on goal in the two games. The Langley native scored a spectacular goal in Game 2 to put the game out of reach for the Cougars when he stole the puck from Bauer Dumanski and eluded Vilam Kmec with a deke before lifting a backhander past Ravensbergen. It was the WHL’s highlight of the night on Saturday.
Seattle Kraken draft pick Tyson Jugnauth has also been a thorn in the Cougars’ side. The 20-year-old from Kelowna is among the top-five playoff point getters in the WHL with a goal and four assists, four of those points coming in Game 2.
“I’m trying to contribute any way I can, trying to be good offensively and be hard to play against, and hopefully, I can keep that going now,” said Jugnauth, who capped the scoring with an empty-netter.
The Winterhawks took the sellout crowd of 6,016 out of the game for much of it. The fans were still loud, but the Cougars didn’t give them much to cheer about.
“That was our goal coming in here, getting the split. With the crowd, you could see how exciting and electric it is in there. Every time you step over the boards, it’s kind of an eye-opener the first time, but now that we’ve played the series last year, you kind of get a feel for what that is,” said Jugnauth.
“(On Friday), when they got going, it helped them a lot, and it also helps us when we can quiet them right away.”
The Winterhawks are known as an offensively strong team, but the Cougars need to find a way to reduce the goals against. Allowing 12 goals in just two games isn’t going to cut it. They must plug those leaks if they hope to move on to the next round.
Josh Ravensbergen had an off night in Game 1 and was replaced early in the second period. However, on Saturday, he lived up to his NHL Central Scouting billing as the top-ranked North American goaltender. The 18-year-old couldn’t be blamed for Saturday’s loss.
While the loss dampened the mood in the Cougars’ dressing room, Saturday’s game was memorable for left winger Evan Groening. Playing on a line with signed NHL prospects Riley Heidt and Koehn Ziemmer, Groening was in the right place at the right time when Leath Hunter’s point shot was blocked by Portland defenceman Carter Sotheran. The puck landed on Groening’s stick, and the 19-year-old third-year veteran from Niverville, Man., buried it to tie the game 1-1 in the first period.
“(Groening) is doing fine out there. He’s aggressive, can really skate, and can score, just like he did,” said Lamb.
The teams play tonight and Wednesday in Portland and will be there for Game 5 on Friday.
If the series is extended, Games 6 and 7 would be played at CN Centre on Sunday and Monday (April 5 and 6).
“It doesn’t matter where you’re playing, it’s playoff hockey, and you’ve got to win,” said Lamb.
All WHL playoff games are available free of charge for ad-supported streaming on Victory+.
Go to the www.victoryplus.com.
Tonight’s game starts at 7 p.m. PT.
