Relief in the double-bubble!
The Prince George Cougars are back on the winning side of the scoreboard and have many players to thank in ending a four-game losing streak since April 17.
Taylor Gauthier's third win in the Kamloops-Kelowna hubs in the form of a 4-1 triumph Monday night (April 26), turning away all but one of the 26 shots he faced from the Victoria Royals.
"It's total buy-in, that's the one thing. It's the guys that wanted to [win]," said General Manager and Head Coach Mark Lamb when asked by PrinceGeorgeMatters to pinpoint the key factor in snapping the skid.
"We had some meetings, we talked about what we wanted to do in practice and the leadership group took charge of that."
Kyren Gronick stood out among Prince George's top performers as he now leads the team's and all B.C. Division rookies with 10 points in 14 games, contributing a goal and an assist tonight.
The numbers also put the 17-year-old in a three-way tie at the top of the Cougars' season stats with Craig Armstrong and Jonny Hooker, who each have six goals and four helpers.
"I can't do that without my teammates every night," the Regina, Sask. product said. "I wouldn't be in that state without my coaching staff helping me out [too] through the bubble."
Gronick opened the scoring less than six minutes into the contest after Ethan Browne slightly swept a rebound to his linemate's stick to the right side of the net and potted the puck into the open cage for the 1-0 lead.
The @PGCougars get one early off the stick of Kyren Gronick!#REMAXHub pic.twitter.com/LBSWsWHlmU
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 27, 2021
Before the first intermission buzzer sounded, Browne lit a lamp himself while on a power-play, his fourth of the year, and served as the eventual game-winner.
The soon-to-be 20-year-old roofed a backhand shot on the same side as Gronick's marker after grabbing hold of a rebound off Royals goaltender Adam Evanoff.
"I thought we built some pretty good chemistry and it fit pretty good tonight," said Browne about his first game sharing a line with Gronick.
The 2-0 score after the opening 20 minutes carried for 11 minutes into the second stanza, when Jonny Hooker increased his goal count four in four meetings with Victoria.
He tipped in a pass in front from Koehn Ziemmer for the 3-0 cushion, which stayed the same through until the next intermission.
The Royals erased Gauthier's shut-out chances 5:44 into the final frame of regulation, but Craig Armstrong responded 106 seconds later and the Cougars hanged on for the 4-1 victory.
'C' Jack Sander and 'A' Majid Kaddoura each notched two assists.
Prince George's record improves to 5-7-1-1 in the 2020-21 season with eight games left.
The original 24-game scheduled was reduced to 22 after the WHL decided it wasn't going to reschedule several that were postponed during the Kelowna Rockets' 14-day COVID-19 suspension.
The Cougars continue their three-game designated homestand on Wednesday (April 28) against the hub-host Blazers in Kamloops.
Puck drop goes for 7 p.m. at Sandman Centre.
Those 2 PG games not being rescheduled were both vs. KEL from April 2 & 10.
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) April 21, 2021
Cougars back on ice tomorrow (April 22), 7 p.m. vs. KAM after a 2-day break, now with 11 games left in the #REMAXHub | #CityOfPG
