There will be a Game 3 after all.
The Cariboo Cougars made sure of that Saturday night at Kin 1, handing the Vancouver Northwest Giants a 3-1 loss to force a third and deciding game in their B.C. Hockey Major Midget League best-of-three semifinal series.
Devin Sutton, Joel Patsey and Josh Maser provided the offence and Dorrin Luding made 25 saves for the Cougars, who avenged a 3-2 loss to the Giants on Friday.
The Cougars made it obvious right from the start they had some unfinished business from the, night before and took their frustrations out on the Giants in an all-out first-period blitz which gave them a 3-0 lead.
Sutton got the Cougars started 6:44 in, jumping on a rebound in the slot after Tyler Ho just missed on a wraparound attempt.
Patsey notched his first of the playoffs from inside the blueline just before the midway point of the period. Giants goalie David Tendeck had trouble with a Riley Coish shot which rebounded off his glove and the puck bounced out to Patsey, who had an open shooting lane and he put it in with a low blast.
Ty Kolle did most of the work on the Cougars’ third goal, fighting off his check to set up linemate Maser from just outside the crease. At that point, 13:23 into the game, with the Cougars outshooting the Giants 15-3, Giants coach Clint Thornton called a timeout and brought goalie Beck Warm in to replace Tendeck.
The Cougars took an 18-4 shot advantage in to the first intermission, but it was a much different story in the second period. The Giants took advantage of an early power play to gain some significant momentum and, just as the penalty to defenceman Jeremy Gervais expired, Jason Village let go a hard high wristshot from the top of the face-off circle which found the net.
The Giants kept coming and kept the Cougars pinned in their own zone for much of the second period and fired 16 shots on Dorrin Luding. However, the Saskatoon Blades junior prospect looked comfortable guarding the Cougar cage and was flawless the rest of the way.
The Cougars protected their lead well in the third period. They stuck to the basics -- aggressive forechecking, smart passing and crisp breakouts -- and limiting the Giants to only a couple quality chances.
The shots ended up 30-26 in favour of the Cougars.
Game 3 is set for 11 a.m. Sunday at Kin 1.
LOOSE PUCKS: The first four picks of the WHL Cougars in the 2015 bantam draft are playing in this series. The Cats used their first round pick (eighth overall) to select Giants left winger Jackson Leppard. The other three play for the Cougars – defenceman Jonas Harkins (second round, 113th overall), RW Tyler Ho (third round, 65th overall), and D Reid Perepeluk (sixth round, 113th overall)
