The Kelowna Rockets got what they deserved.
They outshot and outplayed the Prince George Cougars for most of Saturday’s game and probably should have had a healthy lead by the late stages of the third period, but it didn’t turn out that way at all.
The Rockets needed two goals in the final 90 seconds to escape with a 5-4 triumph over the Cougars.
The visitors blew a 3-1 lead in the second period.
Borya Valis, with his second of the game, made it a one goal-game midway through the second period and the Cougars made it interesting when Hunter Laing tied it 3-3 early in the third. Then it was Koehn Ziemmer’s turn and the hottest scorer in the WHL collected his 19th of the season with only three minutes left on the clock.
Four goals on 12 shots, it was quality over quantity at that stage for the Cougars.
But the Rockets answered with a pair of goals 28 second apart to seal it.
Michael Cicek scored the equalizer at 18:30 and Andrew Cristall fired the winner at 18:58.
Caden Price, Tij Iginla and Jakub Stancl also scored for Kelowna.
Iginla, the game’s first star, also drew an assist. He had five shots on goal and hit the goalpost three times.
The Cougars were outshot 31-18, their lowest shot total this season.
The Rockets improved to 8-8-1-1, while the Cougars, with their first regulation loss at home this season and first in 22 games dating back to last year, dropped to 12-5-3-2 – still in first place in the BC Division.
The Cougars host the Kamloops Blazers Friday (7 p.m.) at CN Centre, then hit the road for Langley to face the Vancouver Giants Sunday afternoon.
