After getting read the riot act by their coaches the previous night following an uninspired one-goal loss in Red Deer, the Prince George Cougars figured they would answer the bell and come out looking more like a first-place team when they faced the Edmonton Oil Kings Saturday in Edmonton.
It didn’t happen.
The Cougars got behind the 8-ball early and dug themselves a deeper hole that eventually caved in around them in a 5-0 loss.
Sixteen-year-old goalie Parker Snell, called up to the Oil Kings from Edmonton OHA 18U for his first career WHL action, stopped all 29 Cougar shots to post his first junior hockey shutout in front of a crowd of 7,385 at Rogers Centre.
That marked the second-straight game a 16-year-old rookie netminder notched his first career win after Peyton Shore did it to the Cougars Friday, blocking 38 of 40 shots.
Adam Jecho put the Oil Kings ahead 7:46 with what was the gamewinner. Blake Fiddler, Gracyn Sawchyn, Gavin Hodnett and Cole Miller also scored.
The Oil Kings outshot Prince George 32-29.
In a penalty-filled game, Edmonton went 2-for-7 on the power play, while Cougars were 0-for-4.
The loss dropped the Cougars’ road record this season to 5-7-0-0 and they’re now 13-8-3-2 overall. Prince George fell two points behind the Victoria Royals (14-8-3-2). The Royals took over top spot in the BC Division from the Cougars after they beat Seattle 3-2 Saturday in Victoria.
The Cougars lost all three games of their WHL roadtrip in regulation. They’ll take on the last-overall Regina Pats Friday at CN Centre, followed by a Teddy Bear Toss date Saturday with the Kamloops Blazers.
