The good news is the Prince George Cougars have clinched a WHL playoff spot for the second consecutive season.
The bad news for Cougar fans is they lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Kelowna Rockets Wednesday in Kelowna.
Tomas Soustal had the only goal of the shootout, beating Cougar goalie Ty Edmonds with a shot just inside the goalpost.
That spoiled a memorable performance from Cougars left winger Chase Witala, who scored his 40th goal and also had an assist to become the all-time Prince George franchise leader in points with 237.
All of the scoring happened in the third period.
The Cougars struck first. Jansen Harkins collected his 23rd, 8:55 into the third period, whistling a snapshot past Rockets goalie Michael Herringer, but penalties came back to haunt the most penalized team in the WHL.
The Rockets tied it on the power play at the 12:55 mark. With Tate Olson serving a tripping penalty. Tyson Baillie one-timed a pass into the face-off circle for his team-leading 39th goal of the season.
It didn't take long for the Rockets to grab the lead when they took advantage of an undisciplined roughing call handed out to Cougars forward Luke Harrison. Baillie's high shot from the slot bounced off the glass and landed in the crease, and Cole Linaker shoveled the puck into the net at the 14:57 mark.
But Witala had an answer for that and his record-setting 40th goal of the season was a beauty. Witala took a pass from Harkins, streaked down the left wing and after a nifty tow-drag move on defenceman Joe Gatenby ripped a low shot into the far corner of the net.
Both teams had great chances denied by the goaltenders in overtime. Edmonds robbed Dylan's Dube on a backhand attempt in the opening minute of OT and Cougars winger Brad Morrison was denied by Herringer's glove on a 2-on-1 chance.
In the shootout, Harkins was stopped by Herringer, Witala list the handle and failed to get a shot away and Jesse Gabrielle fired high over the net.
Edmonds made 39 saves as the Rickets outshot the Cougars 41-27. Kelowna went 2-for-5 on the power play while the Cats were 0-for-3.
The teams were scoreless heading into the third period. For the Cougars, a lot of the credit for that had to go to Edmonds, the games' first star, who made four quality saves in the opening five minutes of the game. The Cougars got themselves in penalty trouble 56 seconds into the game when Olson got caught high-sticking and the Rockets held the puck in the Cougar end for the duration of the penalty.
Both teams came close in the second period. The Cougars dodged a bullet 5:35 into the second period when Dylan Dube was tripped by Sam Ruopp on a partial breakaway and was awarded a penalty shot. But Edmonds made a standup pad save to thwart Dube's deke attempt. The Cougars had a lot more offensive zone time in the middle frame and twice hit the goalpost.
In Spokane, the Blazers rolled to their fifth straight victory, a 3-2 win Wednesday over the Chiefs. That allowed the Blazers (34-35-5-4) to tie the Cougars (37-27-3-2) in points, each with 77, but the Cougars remain in third place based on the fact they have more wins than Kamloops. Kelowna (45-16-3-0) is three points behind first-place Victoria, having played one fewer game than the Royals.
The Cats move on to Victoria, where they face the Royals Friday and Saturday. They wrap up the season next weekend with a home-and-home series against Kamloops.
Wednesday WHL summary
Cougars 2 at Rockets 3 (SO)
First Period
No scoring.
Penalties -- Olson PG (high-sticking) 0:56, Thurkauf Kel (holding) 3:56, Bison PG (unsportsmanlike conduct) 16:22, Ruopp PG (holding) 18:54.
Second Period
No scoring.
Missed penalty shot -- Kelowna, Dube, 5:36.
Penalties -- Stephens Kel (elbowing) 7:48, Thurkauf Kel (checking to the head) 13:46.
Third Period
1. Prince George, Harkins, 23 (Witala, Morrison), 8:33
2. Kelowna, Baillie 39 (Johansen, Linaker) 12:55 (pp)
3. Kelowna, Linaker 17 (Thurkauf, Baillie) 14:57 (pp)
4. Prince George, Witala 40 (Harkins, Morrison) 16:54
Penalties -- Olson PG (tripping) 12:41, McDonald PG (fighting), Southam (fighting) 13:25.
Overtime
No scoring.
Penalties -- None.
Shootout -- Kelowna wins 1-0.
Prince George -- Harkins, miss; Witala, miss; Gabreille, miiss; Kelowna -- Kirkland, miss; Soustal, goal.
Shots on goal by
Prince George612 54--27
Kelowna1411114--40
Goal -- Prince George, Edmonds (21-14--0-0); Kelowna, Herringer (23-11-1-0).
Power plays -- PG: 0-3; Kel: 2-5.
Referees -- Mike Campbell, Mike Langin; Linesmen -- Kevin Crowell, Dustin Minty.
Attendance -- 4,738.
