It was standing-room only Friday at CN Centre, the first time the Prince George Cougars had sold out the joint in nearly a decade.
The last time that chock-a-block situation had presented itself was on April 25, 2007 in Game 4 of the WHL Western Conference championship against the Vancouver Giants and Devin Setoguchi was the overtime hero for the Cats, sending the series back to Vancouver for Game 5.
On such a blue-moon occasion, with the crowd of 5,896 buzzing over the excitement of a mega 50/50 draw that hit six figures, the Cougars certainly didn't aim to disappoint all those faithful folks who packed the old barn to the rafters to watch the Cougars battle the Moose Jaw Warriors.
But on this night, Warriors goalie Zach Sawchenko was the ultimate party-pooper to spoil the show for the Cougars. Sawchenko was at his miserly best, stopping 34 of 35 shots to preserve a 2-1 victory.
Spencer Bast and captain Brett Howden gave the Warriors (28-12-6-1) all the offensive spice they needed to end the five-game winning streak of the Cougars (33-13-2-0).
Not only was the 19-year-old Zawchenko good at making the first saves but he played the angles exceptionally and his rebound control was off the charts. The most glaring example of that came with 6:30 left when Aaron Boyd set up linemate Josh Curtis for a point-blank chance. Curtis got a hard shot away but Sawchenko stood tall and smothered the puck.
After being held to five shots in the first period, the Warriors generated more offensive-zone time to start the second period and were rewarded with a 2-0 lead. Ty Edmonds kicked out a point shot from Brandon Armstrong and lost sight of the rebound, looking the other direction while Bast tucked the puck into the open side to open the scoring, 7:04 into the period.
Then on a Moose Jaw power play less than three minutes later, Warriors' leading scorer Jayden Halbgewachs gained the puck behind the goal line and tricked Edmonds into thinking he was going around the net. Instead, he spotted Howden standing off the near-side post and fed him a perfect backhand pass with Edmonds already moving the other way, anticipating a wraparound attempt.
The Cougars countered about a minute later. Defenceman Joel Lakusta let go a shot from the face-off circle that ricocheted off the end boards out the other side to a waiting Colby McAuley, who had nothing but net to shoot at for his 16th of the season.
But as hard as they tried, and there was no shortage of effort, the Cougars were unable to get the greasy goals that have been their forte all season while climbing to the top of the league standings.
The Cats remain first overall in the WHL with 68 points and they did play exceptionally well in their own zone, allowing just 22 shots and limiting the Moose Jaw power play to one goal in four chances. They also held the Warriors' top line of Halbgewachs, Howden and Brayden Burke to just two points.
No goals were scored in swift-moving opening period but there was no shortage of action. Cougars left winger Nikita Popugaev had extra spring in his step taking on his former teammates and had a couple of good cracks at the net as the Cougars built a 12-5 shot advantage.
McAuley dished out the hit of the game 17 minutes in when he nailed defenceman Dmitri Zaitsev into the end boards with a shoulder-to-shoulder crunch that brought a huge roar out of the crowd. That came just after Cats defenceman Josh Anderson scored a narrow decision in a spirited fight with Warriors forward Tanner Jeannot.
Yan Khomenko and Justin Almeida, the two forwards the Cougars sent to Moose Jaw in the Popugaev deal a few weeks ago, played together on the third line centered by Branden Klatt. Almeida came close a couple of times to picking up his first point in eight games as a Warrior in the second period when Guhle got his stick in the way of his labelled wraparound shot.
Sixteen-year-old Cats winger Jackson Leppard came close to his first career WHL goal 3:30 into the second period when his long shot rattled the goal post, with Popugaev standing in front to form the screen in front of Sawchenko.
LOOSE PUCKS: The actual crowd count for that 2007 playoff game was 5,982, 86 more than the current capacity of CN Centre, which was reduced to allow construction of the video replay booth, party zone area and luxury loge seating... Stimulated by a $25,000 donation from Canadian Tire, the 50/50 draw reached a record $123,851, resulting in a payoff of $61,425 to the holder of ticket number JS-390801... The Cougars loaded up the bus right after the game and left for Kamloops, where they face the Blazers tonight in the start of a five-game roadtrip. The Cats will play the Vancouver Giants Monday in Langley, then head to Alberta for two days of practice and a bit of curling in Banff before they hit Red Deer for a game against the Rebels Friday. The trip wraps up with games in Edmonton next Saturday and Sunday.
Friday's game summary
Warriors 2, Cougars 1
First Period
No scoring.
Penalties - O'Brien PG (tripping) 15:02, Jeannot MJ (fighting), Anderson PG (fighting) 17:23.
Second Period
1. Moose Jaw, Bast 7 (Armstrong, Jeannot) 7:04
2. Moose Jaw, Howden 24 (Halbgewachs, Brook) 9:32 (pp)
3. Prince George, McAuley 16 (Lakusta, Harkins) 10:51
Penalties - Olson PG (tripping) 9:03, Guhle PG (cross-checking) 15:09
Third Period
No scoring.
Penalties - Maser PG (delay of game) 6:36, Howden MJ (tripping) 7:38.
Shots on goal by
Moose Jaw 5 11 6 -22
Prince George 12 9 14 -35
Goal - Moose Jaw, Sawchenko (W,18-7-4-1); Prince George, Edmonds (L,25-9-1-0).
Power plays - MJ: 1-4; PG: 0-2.
Referees - Ryan Benbow, Bryan Bourdon; Linesmen - Scott Mackey, Alex Teichroeb.
Attendance - 5,896.
Scratches - Moose Jaw: D Colin Paradis (hip injury), C Noah Gregor (lower-body, day-to-day), LW Brecon Wood (healthy); PG: D Sam Ruopp (upper-body, day-to-day), RW Jesse Gabrielle (served third game of three-game suspension), D Jonas Harkins (healthy), LW Tanner Wishnowski (upper-body, day-to-day).
