How hot are the Prince George Cougars right now?
Hot enough to burn a tough playoff-bound Victoria Royals squad with a three-goal third period to cap an impressive 4-3 comeback victory over their Western Hockey League rivals.
It was the fifth-straight victory for the surging Cats, in front of 2,404 witnesses at CN Centre, and it allowed them to maintain the three-point cushion they hold over the Kamloops Blazers in the race for the third and final B.C. Division playoff spot.
Down 2-0, Josh Connolly started it with a goal late in the second period and Jari Erricson, Brad Morrison and Cougar rookie Kody McDonald, with what stood as the gamewinner, all scored in the third period.
Erricson's 22nd goal of the season made it a 2-2 game 5:08 into the season. The 21-year-old Prince George native carried the puck in deep and centred it into the slot, trying to hit linemate Jared Bethune with the pass, but instead banked it into the net off skate of Royals defenceman Marsel Ibragimov. Erricson and his linemates, Morrison and Bethune, each had some great looks at the net up until that point.
"In the second period we started clicking offensively and we had a few good scoring chances," said Erricson. "We just had to get to the paint and throw it at their feet and you never know."
After Erricson scored, the Cougars continued to apply pressure and with Erricson standing on his off-wing, he threaded a backhand pass to Sam Ruopp, who had left his point position to rush the net. Justin Paulic came up with the save to deny Ruopp but Morrison followed up on the rebound for his 21st of the season, ending a seven-game scoring drought.
McDonald gave the Cougars some breathing room, stepping out from behind the net with a toe-drag backhander on net that got through to make it 4-2. But the Royals were far from done and 41 seconds later scored their third power-play goal of the game, a sniper shot into the high corner from Greg Chase.
Logan Fisher nailed the post behind Edmonds with 2:40 left, and Forsberg made for a tense final few seconds with Paulic on the bench when he knocked down Pochiro's shot at the empty net, but that's as close as it got. Edmonds once again was spectacular in making 34 saves for his 25th win of the season. The shots ended up 37-37.
A first-period parade of penalties got the Cougars into a deep hole and they got behind in the count 2-0 early in the second period as a result. Alex Forsberg, a former Cougar, picked first overall by the Cats in the 2010 bantam draft, gave the Royals the lead 2:13 into the game, with Ruopp cooling his heels in the box. Forsberg got the puck in front and faked a pass before lifting a shot into the net.
The Cougars started the second period trying to kill off a two-man disadvantage which carried over from the opening frame. Aaron Macklin was booked for interference and 11 seconds later Ruopp was sent off for a borderline hooking penalty. Not long into the 5-on-3 chance, Royals defenceman Travis Brown blasted a onetimer from the slot past Edmonds for his 18th goal of the season.
The Cougars had a great chance to get on the scoreboard with 13 minutes gone in the second period and their leading scorer, Jansen Harkins off for slashing. Zach Pochiro took a long clearing pass off the side boards and got free on a breakaway but missed the net on his shot. It was one of several golden opportunities the Cougar winger was unable to finish on his 21st birthday.
Pochiro's line, with Jansen Harkins and Chase Witala, was snakebitten all game, held to just one point, after generating 46 points in their nine previous games.
After creating at least a dozen scoring chances in the period, the Cougars finally broke the goose egg late in the period, cashing in on their second power-play of the game, 17:59 into the second period on a Cougar power play. Connolly took off with the puck in a burst of speed down the right wing, leaving three Royals in his wake before he let go a sharp-angle shot that got through the legs of Paulic.
The Cougars (28-33-2-2) remained third in the B.C. Division, 12 points back of second-place Victoria (34-27-3-1). The Cougars moved five points ahead of the Vancouver Giants, who lost Friday at home to Kelowna. The Kamloops Blazers are also in the thick of the playoff hunt three points behind Prince George after a 4-2 win Friday in Kamloops over Spokane.
The same teams meet tonight at CN Centre. Game time is 7 p.m.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Cougars are promising their fans tonight's 50/50 jackpot will be the biggest in franchise history. Team owners are donating $25,000 worth of 50/50 tickets to fans and volunteers as they enter the arena. Proceeds from draw will be given to the Shelly L. Mrkonjic ALS Research Fund, to honour the memory of the mother of Cougar forward Tyler Mrkonjic, who died of ALS in 2006.
