If only it was horseshoes the Prince George Cougars played at CN Centre, their back-to-back 3-2 losses over the weekend to the Kelowna Rockets might be easier to accept.
But it’s hockey. Close doesn’t count for much. Anything less than a win is a disappointment, and there have been plenty of those lately in Cougarville.
Gabriel Szturc rained on their parade when he unleashed a backhander that found the net 12:49 into the third period to open up a 3-1 lead, which, on this night, was enough to create a happy bunch of Rockets for the long ride into the night back to Kelowna.
Down by two goals with about four minutes left, the Cougars rolled the dice and pulled goalie Tyler Brennan to the bench for the extra skater and were rewarded when Hudson Thornton’s point shot through a Connor Bowie screen in front of the crease got through Talyn Boyko’s body armour.
The Cougars tried the same tactic in the final minute and had the Rockets holding their collective breath when Riley Heidt attempted a wraparound just as Boyko dropped his goal stick in the crease. Heidt had a couple whacks at the puck and it appeared it was about to slide in when it hit the shaft of the abandoned stick and stopped short of the target.
It was just one of those nights when luck was not on the side of the Cougars. They also fumbled most of their power-place chances, going 1-for-8.
“It was a hard game, I think we played good and we had some pressure at the end and scored a goal and it was really close, to score another one,” said Cougars defenceman Viliam Kmec.
“It was a scrimmage at the end and unfortunately it didn’t go in. It’s tough.”
Saturday’s defeat was the fifth straight on home ice for the Cats. A full month has passed since they last had a chance to uncork a celebration in their own dressing room. The Cougars are now two games into an eight-game homestand with no points to show for it.
They’ll have a week to practice before Taylor Gauthier and the Portland Winterhawks arrive for a weekend doubleheader Friday and Saturday.
“We just have to work on some thing and get better and play hard the next games,” said Kmec.
“We need to make goals from those chances on the power play and also just play more with the puck in the offensive zone and just shoot all pucks at the net. We need to work on that in practice.”
They did not get enough quality shots on Boyko, who rarely had to step out of his comfort zone while his team outshot the Cougars 38-28. Tyler Brennan was tested more frequently with shots of the dangerous kind and he kept the Cougars within striking distance.
He certainly couldn’t be faulted for his team’s shaky start that left them down a goal six minutes in when Turner McMillan converted a 2-on-1 chance six minutes. The Cougars were fortunate to get out of the period down by only a goal, but they found their bearings in the second period and scored a disputed goal on a power play eight minutes into the period.
Connor Bowie got his stick on a Koehn Ziemmer shot from the left circle and just as the puck was going in, Kelowna goalie Boyko purposely leaned his six-foot-eight body against the post and dislodged the net.
The referees, after consulting the video replay, ruled Boyko dislodged the goal intentionally and the game was tied 1-1. The goal came just after Boyko had been assessed a penalty for tripping a Cougar behind the net.
A Craig Armstrong hooking penalty that carried over into the third period set up the go-ahead goal for Kelowna. Jake Lee curled into the slot carrying the puck and let fly a wristshot that sailed in just under the crossbar for a 2-1 lead, 27 seconds into the period.
The Cougars (19-27-2-1) are now in danger of losing their grip on sixth place in the WHL’s Western Conference to the Vancouver Giants. The seventh-place Giants (19-24-2-0) beat the Kamloops Blazers 4-3 in overtime Saturday in Kamloops and are now just one point behind Prince George with four games in hand over the Cougars.
Saturday WHL summary
Rockets 3 at Cougars 2
First Period
1. Kelowna, McMillan 7 (Pacheco, Dorey) 6:19
Penalties – Bowie PG (kneeing) 8:44, Liwiski Kel (holding), 12:37, Graham Kel (high-sticking) 14:51.
Second Period
2. Prince George, Bowie 10 (Ziemmer, Heidt) 8:32 (pp)
Penalties – Boyko Kel (tripping, served by Novak) 7:13, Kovacevic Kel (high-sticking) 9:57, Liwiski Kel (unsportsmanlike conduct), MacAdams PG (unsportsmanlike conduct) 14:23, Dach Kel (roughing) 16:34, Armstrong PG (holding) 19:36.
Third Period
3. Kelowna, Lee 13 (Cristall, Novak) 0:27
4. Kelowna, Szturc 10 (Babcock, Feist) 12:49
4. Prince George, Thornton 10 (Ziemmer, Samson) 17:31
Penalties – Babcock Kel (checking from behind) 2:52, Dorey Kel (roughing), Brown PG (roughing) 6:23, Feist Kel (charging) 8:53, Dorey Kel (slashing) 13:15.
Shots on goal by
Kelowna 14 11 12 38
Prince George 8 12 8 -28
Goal – Kelowna, Boyko (W,20-12-2-1); Prince George, Brennan (L,10-17-1-1).
Power plays – Kel: 1-2; PG: 1-8.
Three stars- 1. Jake Lee, Kel; 2. Talyn Boyko, Kel; 3. Tyler Brennan, PG.
Referees – Brayden Arcand, Taylor Durzminski; Linesmen – Anthony Maletta, Cayden Fanshaw.
Attendance – 1,991.
Estimated time of opening not available. Detour not available. Next update time Sun Feb 20 at 12:30 AM PST.
