The Prince George Cougars are going through their worst slump of the season, losers of seven straight games.
It's safe to say the Everett Silvertips were not what the doctor ordered to cure the Cougars' maladies.
The high-flying Silvertips came into town for a two-game series with a kick-'em-while-they're-down approach and it worked to perfection. They were at their opportunistic best Wednesday in handing the Cougars their ninth loss in 10 games this month, a 4-1 final.
Kohl Bauml scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Silvertips (30-12-3-1) who improved their hold on first place in the WHL's U.S. Division. Combined with Tuesday's 6-1 win over the Cougars, it was Everett's seventh road victory in eight attempts so far in 2015.
Bauml scored both his goals early in the third period, deflating a Cougars team that showed a lot more desire in their play than they did Tuesday. Bauml took a pass from linemate Carson Stadnyk from behind the net which caught Cougars goalie Tavin Grant looking the other way as Bauml shot into the empty cage, just 32 seconds into the period. Bauml capped the scoring on a rebound at 7:22.
Shots were 26-18 in favour of the Silvertips, the top defensive team in the WHL.
After being held without a sniff in their first three power-play chances, the Cougars finally cashed one in to make it 2-1 with 8:06 gone in the second period. Defenceman Shane Collins took a shot from a sharp angle with teammates Aaron Macklin and Tyler Mrkonjic creating traffic just outside the blue paint. Silvertips' goalie Carter Hart made the save but Macklin jammed in the rebound for his third of the season. Macklin also got involved with a fight in the first period with Tristen Pfeifer and was a deserving recipient of the game's second-star accolades.
Both of Everett's opening goals came after sustained pressure on the power play. Carson Stadnyk popped in rebound at the 13:19 mark of the first period with two seconds left in Mrkonjic's penalty. Two minutes into the second period, Nikita Scherbak notched his 21st of the season seconds after a penalty to Cougars David Soltes had expired. Scherbak, the Montreal Canadiens' first-rounder in 2014, tapped in a pass into the slot from Kohl Bauml. Bauml had some extra room to operate beside the goal after Cats' defenceman Josh Connolly broke his stick.
The Cougars (20-26-1-1, third in B.C. Division) did get some help when the Medicine Hat Tigers beat the Vancouver Giants 8-4 Wednesday in Medicine Hat. The Giants (19-25-1-1) remained fourth in B.C., two points behind the Cougars. The Cats also have to worry about the Kamloops Blazers (17-24-3-3), who defeated Tri-City 3-1 Wednesday in Kamloops and are now tied with the Giants, each with 40 points.
LOOSE PUCKS: Cougars captain and D Sam Ruopp sat in the pressbox Wednesday, suspended indefinitely for a knee-on-knee hit on Silvertips D Jordan Wharrie in the first period of Tuesday's game at CN Centre. Ruopp drew a two-game suspension in December after being ejected with a kneeing major and game misconduct in a game against Saskatoon. According to Silvertips' general manager Gary Davidson, the WHL will rule on the length of Ropp's suspension once more is learned of Wharrie's condition. He's not expected to play this weekend when Everett plays a two-game set in Kelowna... The Cougars were also without F Jansen Harkins and F Zach Pochiro. Harkins, the Cougars' leading scorer, is in St. Catharines, Ont., for tonight's BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. Everett D Noah Juulsen is also at the camp will be playing on Team Orr. Pochiro got nailed with a shot in Saturday's game against Portland and missed both games of the Everett series with an upper-body injury... The Cougars boarded the bus right after the game for Jasper, where they were due to spend the night. They'll play in the Central Division-leading Tigers in Medicine Hat on Friday, then head to Lethbridge to play the Hurricanes Saturday. On Sunday they'll be in Cranbrook to face the Kootenay Ice.
