Drew Owsley was rock solid in the Prince George Cougars' net leading his team to a 3-1 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds.
After letting in two uncharacteristically weak goals in Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the T-birds, it was a more typical performance from Owsley in Wednesday's rematch in front of the 1,651 faithful at CN Centre. The win kept the Cougars (21-44-0-2) mathematically in the hunt for a Western Hockey League playoff spot in the Western Conference, pulling within two points of the T-birds (22-42-1-1).
The 20-year-old goaltender made several key saves in the third period, including a nice toe save late, as the Cats battled to hold on to a 2-1 lead. Seattle's chances to earn the sweep of the two games was diminished on back-to-back penalties with less than two minutes to play.
But the T-birds did receive one last chance to tie the game during the five-on-three but the visitors were unable to get a decent shot away. Cougars' rookie Alex Forsberg turned the play around, potting the empty-net goal at 19:59 to ensure the win after Calvin Pickard had skated to the bench for the extra attacker. It was Forsberg's 13th goal of the season and the first goal the Cougars' scored with a two-man advantage.
The Cats' finished 2-for-6 on the power play while keeping Seattle from scoring on all six of their attempts.
Owsley stopped 31 shots for his 20th win of the season, while Pickard had 22 saves in the loss. Despite playing on teams with losing records both goalies sport stellar save percentages, mainly due to the high number of shots they face each game, with Owsley at .904 and Pickard at .908.
With the Everett Silvertips (20-37-1-8) 3-2 win over the Victoria Royals (21-40-2-4) on Wednesday the Cougars trail the eighth-place Royals by four points. The Silvertips slipped into seventh with 49 points. Both the Royals and Cougars have five games remaining while the T-birds and Silvertips have six each.
Jarrett Fontaine gave the Cougars an early 1-0 lead, picking up a loose puck in the slot and bouncing a shot off T-birds defenceman Braeden Laroque's shoulder and behind Pickard. The lead held up through the first 20 minutes in large part due to the Cats' penalty killers hard work during six straight minutes of work, including 21 seconds when they were two-men short.
Seattle tied the game at 1-1 early in the second period when Burnaby's Luke Lockhart beat Owsley with a rebound for his 20th goal of the season, and second of the midweek doubleheader. But the Cats' responded with a power-play goal when Alex Forsberg put the puck on his older brother Jesse's stick, who slid it into the open net. Troy Bourke also picked up an assist.
Cat scratches: Cougars' defenceman Cody Carlson hit the 300 mark in WHL games played Wednesday. The 20 year old is in his fifth season having started his career with the Medicine Hat Tigers before joining the Regina Pats and Cougars. Carlson has 25 goals, 134 points and 263 penalty minutes in his junior career. The Cougars head out on a four-game road trip beginning Saturday in Kelowna before visiting Tri-City for games Sunday and Tuesday. Prince George wraps up its season with a home and home with the Kamloops Blazers, playing in Kamloops March 16 and at CN Centre on March 17.
WHL summary:
Seattle Thunderbirds 1 Prince George Cougars 3
First period:
1. Prince George Jarrett Fontaine 4 (Jackson) 3:41
Penalties: Mykitiuk PG (double minor high sticking) 10:32; Jackson PG (tripping) 14:11; Asuchak PG (goaltender interference) 19:21.
Second period:
2. Seattle Luke Lockhart 20 (Lund) 1:22
3. Prince George Jesse Forsberg 3 (Bourke, A. Forsberg) 5:13 pp
Penalties: Lund SEA (boarding) 2:19; Rouse SEA (high sticking) 3:17; Rouse SEA (interference) 6:39; Deagle SEA (charging) 10:18; Bourke PG (tripping) 14:54.
Third period:
4. Prince George Alex Forsberg 13 19:59 en pp
Penalties: Elynuik PG (tripping) 3:02; Wardley SEA (tripping) 18:19; Theodore SEA (delay of game) 18:44.
Shots:
Seattle 11 11 10 32
Prince George 9 9 6 24
Goaltenders: Seattle Calvin Pickard (L 22-34-1-1); Prince George Drew Owsley (W 20-36-0-1)
Power plays: Seattle 0/6 Prince George 2/6
Referees: Trent Knorr, Derek Zalaski; Ron Dietterle, Ryan Gibbons
Attendance: 1,651
