More solid goaltending from Nick McBride and an offensive eruption in the third period lifted the Prince George Cougars to a 7-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs on Tuesday night at CN Centre.
The 20-year-old McBride blocked 28 of 30 shots fired his way by the Chiefs and, in the process, won for the sixth time in his past six Western Hockey League starts. Backstopped by their goalkeeper - who was later named the game's first star - the Cougars had a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes. In the final frame, the Cats got goals from Kody McDonald, Jansen Harkins, Colby McAuley and Brad Morrison and stretched their lead to 6-1. In the last two minutes, Ethan McIndoe got one back for the visitors but rookie forward Jackson Leppard restored the five-goal advantage before the final buzzer sounded.
The Chiefs opened the scoring on a goal early in the first period from Jaret Anderson-Dolan, who cashed in on a two-on-one rush. Later in the frame, Jared Bethune tied the score after he jumped on a Spokane turnover and beat goalie Dawson Weatherill with his shot.
The game remained tied until late in the second period when Aaron Boyd took advantage of a turnover while the Cougars were shorthanded. Boyd intercepted a cross-ice pass at the Prince George blueline, sped in on Weatherill and beat him with a snap shot to the blocker side.
McAuley's goal was his 20th of the season and Morrison's was his 21st. Harkins ended the contest with a goal and two assists while Radovan Bondra and defenceman Tate Olson each had two helpers.
Overall, the Cougars outshot the Chiefs 36-30. The Cats also went 2-for-7 on the power play and held Spokane scoreless in five man-advantage opportunities.
As for McBride, he now sports a 12-4-1-0 record, a goals-against average of 3.06 and a .901 save percentage.
Announced attendance was 2,675.
With the win, the Cougars got some revenge against the Chiefs, who prevailed 4-3 in a Monday afternoon game at CN Centre. The Cats elevated their record to 38-17-3-1 and the Chiefs - coached by Prince George product Don Nachbaur - slipped to 24-24-6-3.
The Cougars are still looking for some consistency in their level of play, and Tuesday's win may have been a step in the right direction. In their past 10 games, they have an unremarkable 5-4-0-1 record. While they are still holding off the Seattle Thunderbirds and Everett Silvertips for the lead in the Western Conference standings, they fell to an honourable mention in the Canadian Hockey League rankings when they were released on Wednesday. The Regina Pats (40-7-6-1) are the CHL's No. 1 team while the Medicine Hat Tigers (40-16-1-0) and Silvertips (33-12-8-2) are eighth and ninth respectively.
Next up for the Cougars is a Saturday game in Kelowna against the Rockets and a Sunday tilt in Kamloops against the Blazers. Both teams are chasing the Cats in the B.C. Division standings. The Rockets are 10 points back with two games in hand while the Blazers are six off the Cougars' pace. Kamloops and Prince George have both played 59 games of a 72-game schedule.
The Rockets will host the Chiefs on Friday and the Blazers will visit the Vancouver Giants.
Cougars goalie Ty Edmonds is still trying to nail down his franchise-best 96th career victory. Edmonds, currently tied at 95 with Scott Myers, is winless in his past four starts.
