It was supposed to be a banner occasion for the Prince George Cougars.
Instead, the Spokane Chiefs decided it was their turn to capture the flag.
They raided the Cats' den on opening night Friday at CN Centre and came away with a 4-2 victory.
Defenceman Ty Smith sparked the Chiefs' offence with a goal and two assists to spoil the celebration for the pro-Cougars crowd of 3,883, which came to see the defending B.C. Division champions hoist their first-ever WHL banner to the rafters.
Down by three after 40 minutes, the Cougars put aside their opening-night jitters and saved their best for last with a strong third period. Ethan O'Rourke, their top scorer in the preseason, cut the gap to 4-2 with 8:53 gone in the period. He had the puck land on his stick in the slot after linemate Josh Curtis had his pass attempt blocked and O'Rourke's wrist shot sailed in high past goalie Dawson Weatherhill.
The Cougars took a penalty right after that but kept their feet moving and generated three quality scoring chances before they got back to even strength. That was as close as they came to completing a comeback.
The Chiefs got off to a great start with two goals seven minutes apart in the first period, both scored on breakaways. Smith spotted Taylor Ross all alone just outside the Cougars' blueline and the 19-year-old winger fired off a high snapshot over Grant's glove to open the scoring 7:30 in. The Cougars were on their second power play of the game when veteran Hudson Elynuik made an alert play taking the puck off his goalie, Weatherhill, rifling a hard pass to Riley Woods streaking through centre ice. Woods finished with a backhander through Grant's legs.
The Cougars certainly had their chances. Late in the same power play, Kody McDonald came within a goalpost of getting the Cougars on the board. Nikita Popugaev also nailed iron after a clever deke to work the puck in deep with Chiefs forward Eli Zummack serving a penalty that carried over from the first period.
Sophomore right winger Jackson Leppard, playing on a Cougar line with Aaron Boyd and Josh Curtis, forced Weatherhill to make another tough save sliding across the crease to deny Leppard's one-timer.
Elynuik gave the Chiefs the momentum again when he scored to make it a 3-0 game, cashing in a three-way passing play with just a second left on the Chiefs' first power-play, 8:45 into the second period.
The 20-year-old Carolina Hurricanes draft pick almost lit the lamp again a minute later after the Chiefs caught defenceman Cole Moberg flatfooted. Elynuik beat Grant with the shot but it hit the goalpost and trickled in behind the goalie, who squeezed his pads together to freeze the puck.
The Cougars finally gave their fans something to cheer about with 16 minutes gone in the second period. Nikita Popugaev, fresh from a two week NHL tour of duty with the New Jersey Devils, wired a point-shot bullet in past Weatherhill with two Chiefs in the box. The Cougars got another 5-on-3 advantage a minute later but could not convert.
Popugaev was dangerous all night, using his six-foot-six height and powerful skating stride to create pressure on his opponents whenever he had the puck.
A minute before the period ended, Smith showed the scoring touch and nose for the net that made him the first-overall pick in the 2015 WHL bantam draft, moving into perfect position to launch a rocket from the slot before Grant had time to react. That gave the Chiefs plenty of breathing room with a 4-1 lead to take into the dressing room.
The Chiefs had the edge in shots, 31-30. The Cats went 1-for-6 on the power play and the Chiefs were 1-for-3.
The same teams meet again tonight at CN Centre. Game time is 7 p.m.
LOOSE PUCKS: Cougars right winger Radovan Bondra signed a pro contract Friday with the Rockford Ice Hogs and won't be returning to the WHL for his final season of junior eligibility. The Ice Hogs are the American Hockey League affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, who selected Bondra in the fifth round, 151st overall in the 2015 NHL draft... Both teams were without NHL-drafted players. The Chiefs were missing C Jaret Anderson-Dolan (L.A. Kings) and RW Kailer Yamamoto (Edmonton Oilers), while the Cougars await the return of D Dennis Cholowski (Detroit Red Wings). Other notable scratches were Spokane RW Jake McCaw, a San Jose Sharks pick in 2017 who missed the entire 2016-17 season with a knee injury. He's still a few weeks from being ready... The Cougars still have five 20-year-olds, including D Tate Olson, still on injured reserve after shoulder surgery. C Jared Bethune was the designated overager forced to sit out Friday's game... One other notable absence was former Chiefs head coach Don Nachbaur, now an NHL assistant with the Kings, who are playing preseason games this week in China. Nachbaur grew up in Prince George and is third in all-time wins with 691 in his WHL career with Spokane, Tri-City and Seattle. .. The defending WHL-champion Seattle Thunderbirds announced Friday they have an agreement in principle to be sold to Dan and Lindsey Leckelt. The deal still needs to be approved by the WHL board of governors and the city of Kent, Wash.
