The Tri-City Americans managed to duck the onslaught of tossed teddy bears but there was nothing they could do to shield themselves from the attack of the Prince George Cougars.
The Cougars got off to a great start on their three-game WHL roadtrip, building an early two-goal lead and never looked back, defeating the Americans 5-1 Friday night in Kennewick, Wash.
Two goals by Todd Fiddler and singles from Klarc Wilson, Jansen Harkins and Aaron Macklin paved the way for the Cougars 13th win of the season. The win left the Cougars (13-17-2-3) six points behind the Americans (17-15-1-2). The Cats move on to Spokane where they play the Chiefs tonight. (7 p.m., CIRX 94.3 FM) The final stop of their trip is Sunday night in Vancouver (5 p.m. start), against the surging Giants.
The Cougars were up 2-0 early in the second period when Americans forward Connor Rankin got to his own rebound to score the teddy bear goal. But Fiddler scored his second of the night and 14th this season on a 5-on-3 power play and Harkins followed that up by accepting his own pass off the boards to collect his fifth of the year to make it a 4-1 game. Twelve of Fiddler's 14 goals have come since he joined the Cougars in a trade from Moose Jaw on Nov. 4.
The Americans had two shorthanded breakaways in the game, the second of which resulted in a penalty shot awarded to forward Marcus Messier, who had his breakaway chance denied when Jordan Tkatch stripped the puck off his stick before he could take a shot. On the penalty shot, 11:31 into the third period, Cougars goalie Ty Edmonds got his stick in the way of Messier's shot.
The Cougars also benefited from a diving save earlier in the period from defenceman Sam Ruopp, which took away an open-net shot from a Tri-City forward.
Shots were 32-26 in the Americans' favour.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Cougars' bus finally rolled into Kennewick at 6 a.m. Friday, 14 1/2 hours after they left Prince George. Bad roads and a needed repair to the bus delayed the team's departure by nearly a day... The Cougars have recalled 19-year-old defenceman Joshua Smith from the Okotoks Oilers of the AJHL. Smith is a former first-round bantam pick, selected 19th overall by the Cats in 2011. He had a goal and 10 assists in 85 games with the Cougars over three seasons before he joined the Camrose Kodiaks in 2011-12. In 26 AJHL games split between Okotoks and the Camrose Kodiaks, the five-foot-11, 190-pound Smith had six goals and eight assists for 14 points and 81 penalty minutes. He gives the Cougars a right-handed shot on the point, an asset they have lacked this season.
