Cougars top Tri-City in WHL shootout in Kennewick

The Prince George Cougars saved their best for last and left the ice Wednesday in Kennewick, Wash., 4-3 shootout winners over the Tri-City Americans.

Koehn Ziemmer grabbed his own rebound and fired in the tying goal with just 26 seconds left in the third period to force overtime, with goalie Josh Ravensbergen on the bench for the extra skater.

Ravensbergen made three stellar stops in the five-minute OT period, all off odd-man rushes, and that set the stage for Jett Lajoie in the fourth round of the shootout. He fumbled the puck but regained control and lifted a high wrister in over the glove of Americans goalie Lukas Matecha.

Then it was up to Ravensbergen to make one more shootout stop and he did that, denying Ams forward Jordan Gavin on the final attempt. The 18-yer-old top-ranked NHL draft prospect played exceptionally well as the game’s second star, making 30 saves while the Cougars were outshot 33-32.

Terik Parascak touched off the scoring for Prince George with the only goal of the first period, 12:32 in.

Terell Goldsmith tied it in the second period and the Americans got back-to-back goals from Brandon Whynott and former Cougar Carter MacAdams to take a 3-1 lead early in the third period.

The Cougars made it a one-goal game just before the midway mark of the third when Hunter Laing fed Lee Shurgot with a pass into the slot and Shurgot buried it for his fifth of the season, setting the stage for Ziemmer’s dramatic tying goal, his team-leading 21st, in the final minute of regulation.

The win improved the Cougars BC Division-leading record to 16-8-3-2, while Tri-City remined fourth in the Western Conference standings with an 18-7-2-0 record.

LOOSE PUCKS: Corbin Vaughan made his Cougars debut on the blueline, wearing jersey No. 15. Vaughan was acquired on Monday in a trade with the Regina Pats that sent defenceman Ephram McNutt and a second-round pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft to the Pats. As expected, he brought his physical game to the ice and connected with at least a coupe thundering hits…. This was the start of a four-game roadtrip heading towards the Christmas break. The Cougars play next in Portland against a Winterhawks team that edged the top-ranked Everett Silvertips 4-3 Wednesday in Everett. The Cougars then will visit Spokane on Saturday and wrap up their trip Tuesday in Kelowna.