Maybe it was the full moon on a Friday the 13th, but there was certainly some strange magic brewing last night in Lethbridge.
The Prince George Cougars completed their most impressive comeback in recent memory, scoring four goals in the third period to erase a 5-1 deficit and defeat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 6-5 in a shootout.
Brogan O'Brien scored two goals late in the final period to send the game into overtime.
Nothing was decided in the five-minute OT session and Nikita Popugaev got the job done with the only goal of the shootout. He finished with a goal and two assists.
Nick McBride stopped all three Lethbridge shooters he faced in the shootout. McBride, in his first start since Dec. 28, made 34 saves as his team was outshot 42-39.
The Cougars trailed 5-1 heading into the third period but somehow found the energy to make it interesting in the final 20 minutes. Jesse Gabrielle took a cross-ice feed from Popugaev and one-timed in his 21st goal, 5:13 into the third. Then at 6:55, on a Hurricanes' power play, Jansen Harkins stripped the puck from Calen Addison, setting up a 2-on-1 chance. Harkins spun and fed the puck to Josh Curtis, whose shot beat Stuart Skinner cleanly.
O'Brien's first of the game, on a nifty backhand deke after he split the defence, came on a Cougars' power play at the 10:23 mark. O'Brien tied it 5-5 with a shot from the slot with 4:01 left to play.
Both teams had chances in the 3-on-3 overtime but the goalies came up big.
The comeback win, combined with the Regina Pats' 6-5 loss to the Tri-City Americans Friday in Regina, allowed the Cougars (30-12-2-0) to move one point ahead of Regina back into first place overall in the WHL. Regina also blew a 5-1 lead in their game.
The Hurricanes got off to a great start in the opening six minutes, scoring two goals 54 seconds apart. Jordy Bellerive got to McBride first with an unassisted effort at 4:51 of the first period. Lethbridge defenceman Brennan Riddle made it a 2-0 count, connecting on a wrist shot from the top of the face-off circle which appeared to get tipped before it went in at 5:45.
But the Cougars had an answer for that and their leading scorer, Popugaev, in his fifth game for the Cats since being acquired in a trade from Moose Jaw, jumped on a rebound for his 24th goal of 2016-17. That came at the 6:33 mark, 48 seconds after Riddle's goal.
The Hurricanes' power play connected to restore the two-goal Lethbridge lead, 16:01 into the first. Igor Merezhko's shot from the blue line drifted to the side
of the net and Egor Babenko had two or three whacks at the loose puck before Jadon Joseph chipped in his first career WHL goal through a tangle of bodies in front of McBride.
Down 3-1 in the second period, the Cougars gave up two more in the middle frame. The Cats were on their third power play of the game when Brennan Mennell stripped the puck off the stick of Cats defenceman Brendan Guhle just outside the Lethbridge end and scored with a forehand deke. That came 4:58 into the period. Hurricanes sniper Tyler Wong collected his 30th of the season on another breakaway, finishing on his backhand side.
Cougars defenceman Sam Ruopp left the game after one period with an upper-body injury. Tate Olson missed his second game on the Cats' blue line, also with an upper-body injury.
The Cougars wrap up their road trip tonight in Calgary against the Hitmen. The came will be broadcast live of Shaw Cable 10, starting at 6 p.m. PT.
Cougars 6, Hurricanes 5 (SO)
First Period
1. Lethbridge, Bellerive 20 (Bowen, Pouteau) 4:51.
2. Lethbridge, Riddle 3 (Wong, Menell) 5:45.
3. Prince George, Popugaev 24 (McDonald, Collins) 6:33.
4. Lethbridge, Joseph 1 (Babenko, Merezhko) 16:01 (pp).
Penalties - Bondra P.g (hooking) 7:08; O'Brien P.g, Bellerive Let (holding) 12:42; Guhle P.g (roughing) 15:14; Bowen Let (holding) 17:37.
Second Period
5. Lethbridge, Menell 7 (unassisted) 4:58 (sh).
6. Lethbridge, Wong 30 (Addison, Yewchuk) 11:53.
Penalties - Nagel Let (hooking) 4:08; Merezhko Let (interference) 12:46; McDonald P.g (hooking) 17:00.
Third Period
7. Prince George, Gabrielle 21 (Popugaev) 5:13 (pp).
8. Prince George, Curtis 7 (Harkins) 6:55 (sh).
9. Prince George, O'Brien 6 (Popugaev, Gabrielle) 10:23.
10. Prince George, O'Brien 7 (Lakusta) 15:59.
Penalties - Nagel Let (boarding) 3:42; Morrison P.g, Merezhko Let (roughing) 5:31; Leppard P.g (high sticking) 5:31.
Overtime
No Scoring.
Penalties - None.
Shootout - Prince George wins 1-0
Lethbridge: , Bellerive miss, Wong miss, Estephan miss.
Prince George: , Popugaev goal, Bondra miss, Harkins miss.
Shots on goal by
Prince George139135-40
Lethbridge1610115-42
Goal - Prince George: McBride (W, 7-4-1-0). Lethbridge: Skinner (L, 21-13-2-2).
Power plays (goals-chances) - Prince George: 1-4; Lethbridge: 1-4.
Referees - Chris Crich, Troy Paterson. Linesmen - Sean Donnelly, Aidan Henderson.
Attendance - 3,675 at Lethbridge, Alta.
