A win’s a win, but it certainly wasn’t pretty for the Prince George Cougars.
They beat the Regina Pats 4-2 Friday at CN Centre but in the process looked nothing like the first-place team they were for the first two months of the season.
The Cougs, trying to shake off a three-game losing streak, had to consider themselves fortunate to escape with the two points because there were long stretches where it looked like they did not deserve to win.
They can thank Josh Ravensbergen for bailing them out. The 18-year-old goalie made 32 saves while his team was outshot 34-21.
Outshot 12-5 in the opening 20, in typical Ravensbergen fashion, he held his position well and always seemed to be standing square to the shooter, showing the traits that earned him a spot on the Team Canada prospects team roster last month. The 18-year-old from North Vancouver was even better in the late stages of the game while improving his record to 12-3-3-1.
“It was really tough sledding for us, a lot of weird plays. We couldn’t really get anything going offensively and Rav was there defensively for us,” said Cougars head coach and general manager Mark Lamb.
“When you’re in a skid like this you certainly don’t look at the standings, you’ve got to play every team the same and they played a heck of a game. We've got some stuff going on, we’re under the weather, we didn’t have a lot of energy and they’re a tough opponent. They made a lot of trades and they’re starting to find their chemistry, especially after that Vancouver win for them.”
Borya Valis scored twice to lead the Cougars.
Riley Heidt got the Cats going first with one of the easiest of the 97 regular-season goals he’s scored over a five-season span. Terik Parascak led the shot go from the slot and it partially deflected off a Pat defender right to a wide-open Heidt standing just off the post and he had a gaping net to shoot at for his 12th of the season just past the three-minute mark.
Heidt, who lost 15 pounds after he broke his jaw in a game against Vancouver Nov. 10, is getting set to leave the Cougars after being invited to Canada’s world junior camp, which starts Tuesday in Ottawa.
Regina got that one back midway through the period. Julien Maze spotted Reece Hamilton cruising into the slot and fed him the puck and he picked the corner low to the far side behind Ravensbergen.
The Cougars got their lead back with just two seconds ahead of the intermission. Bauer Dumanski’s point blast defected off a Pat standing in front and the puck bounced and skipped over to an open Valis, who found the net with his backhander.
The only goal of the second period came on a Cougars’ power play. Pointman Carson Carels went deep into the corner and wired a low shot that ticked off Parascak’s skate in front of goalie Kelton Pyne for a 3-1 Cougar lead.
The Pats threatened to cut the gap to one just past the halfway point of the third period when former Cougar Zachary Shantz got behind the defence and created a breakaway for himself. But Big-Save Rave was equal to the task, getting his shoulder in the way to deflect the puck out of harm’s way.
Shantz provided Ravensbergen another severe test with about five minutes left but he held his ground to keep the Cougars ahead, but it was never comfortable for the home team after that.
It got even more dicey when Regina converted a late power-play chance with Pyne on the bench for the extra skater to create a 6-on-4 advantage. Former Cougar Caden Brown rapped in a loose puck Dumanski had cleared from the crease with his glove hand with just 65 seconds left.
Valis took finally took the heat off his team with a strong rush down the right wing. He fought off the check of Maze and lifted the puck in for his 14th of the year.
The Cougars (14-8-3-1) rank second in the BC Division, while the Pats (7-17-2-2) remained 10th in the Eastern Conference.
LOOSE PUCKS: Cats D Villiam Kmec served a one-game suspension Friday for his fight last weekend in Edmonton ... The crowd count Friday was 3,840. The Cougars came into the game averaging 3,908 through 14 games, which is ninth-best in the 22-team WHL ... The Cougars were hoping to reward their fans’ loyalty with Ravensbergen bobbleheads, but a delay in receiving the shipment from China spoiled that plan. All fans who bought tickets for Friday and Saturday’s game against the Kamloops Blazers were eligible for the promotion and will get theirs at a later date ... One other former Cougar, defenceman Tyson Buczkowski, was sidelined with an ankle injury sustained in Tuesday’s game in Victoria ... Saturday's Teddy Bear Toss game against the Kamloops Blazers starts at 6 p.m.
