After being punished for their 4-2 loss on the road to the Vancouver Giants Wednesday with an early-morning practice the following day, the Prince George Cougars were on their best behaviour Saturday in Kamloops.
They responded by putting together their most complete game of the season, embarrassing the Kamloops Blazers 7-0.
“It was just a great effort, with the adversity we went through in Vancouver, we know we didn’t play very well and I’m sure you could ask all 27 guys we have on this trip, the 9 o’clock practice in Vancouver the next morning wasn’t fun,” said Cougars head coach Richard Matvichuk, in the post-game broadcast.
“They put the time in, they put the work in, and what a great response from them. This was a division rival and coming off probably our worst game of the year we had a little adversity, but boy did the guys answer the bell tonight.”
Ty Edmonds turned in a first-star performance in the Cougar nets, making 35 saves for his first shutout since Dec. 4, 2015. The 20-year-old goalie was especially sharp while the Cougars were shorthanded, forced to kill five of the first six penalties in the game. His teammates used that to their advantage, scoring twice while shorthanded. The first came 11:23 into the game, scored by Colby McAuley, who potted the rebound in his second game back from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for two weeks. Jansen Harkins set up the second shortie, springing Jared Bethune for his second goal of the game and ninth this season. That gave the Cougars a 4-0 lead, 14:21 into the second period. Bethune also had an assist and was picked as the second star.
Jesse Gabrielle added to the count in the third period on a Cougars and fired his second of the night at even strength to cap the scoring. Brad Morrison and Yan Khomenko also scored.
Cougars centre Brogan O’Brien picked up two assists and was named the second star. Cougars defenceman Tate Olson finished with four assists. Defenceman Josh Anderson returned to the Cats’ lineup after missing two games with an upper-body injury.
The Cougars won the special teams battles, going 1-for-3 on the power play while shutting down the Blazers in six power-play opportunities.
“The little things that we did at practice, getting the pucks deep and using our speed and size to our advantage, they learned tonight that when they do it properly it works,” said Matvichuk. “They’re a hardworking bunch and they’re full of pride. They knew it wasn’t acceptable in Vancouver.”
The win kept the Cougars (15-4-2-0) first-overall in the WHL. It was their second victory in as many weeks against Blazers (11-10-1-0), who lost 4-2 at CN Centre Nov. 5. The Cougars now sport a 9-1-0-0 record on the road, while the Blazers fell to 8-2-0-0 at home. The Cats had lost three of their last four heading into Kamloops.
They return to the ice in Kelowna Tuesday to face the Rockets. They return home to play the Prince Albert Raiders Friday at CN Centre.
