In a cat fight at CN Centre Wednesday, the Prince George Cougars claws weren't sharp enough to take down the Medicine Hat Tigers.
For the Cougars the 4-1 loss snapped their undefeated streak of midweek Western Hockey League games - they were 3-0 on Wednesday's - while the win clinched a playoff spot for the Tigers (39-21-2-3) in the Eastern Conference.
Cougars' captain Jesse Forsberg said it's tough to get swept - the Cats lost 3-2 to the Tigers on Tuesday - especially when they need victories to climb back into the playoff race.
"It's tough losing both games," said Forsberg. "At this point there's nothing we can do about it. After the game you wish you could go back in time and change a few things because at this point in the season we need wins."
Hunter Shinkaruk gave the Tigers an insurmountable 3-1 lead with his second goal of the game, 44th of the season, midway through the final period and then added the hat-trick goal into an empty net in the final minute.
Tyler Bunz picked up his 36th win of the season in the Tigers' net, while Drew Owsley stopped 39 of 42 shots in the Cougars' net. The loss, in front of an announced crowd of 1,532, was the sixth straight for the Cougars, who have only nine games remaining and trail the eighth-place Seattle Thunderbirds (21-39-1-1) by four points.
Despite the loss the Cougars (19-42-0-2) didn't lose ground in the snail race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference as both the ninth-place Everett Silvertips (17-37-1-8) and seventh-place Victoria Royals (20-38-2-4) also lost - Everett 3-2 to the Kamloops Blazers and Victoria 6-1 to the Spokane Chiefs.
"We know that coming into these games that every one is a must-win," said Forsberg. "Other teams are doing us favours but at this point it's up to us to get it together here and get some wins."
Owsley stopped 12 of 13 shots the Tigers fired at him in the middle frame, including a sensational save off Medicine Hat's Kale Kessy midway through the period. The only shot to beat the 20 year old was from Tigers' left-winger Brandon Hurley with his fifth of the year giving the visitors a 2-1 advantage.
"He keeps us in there all the time and makes big saves when we need him to and we appreciate everything he does," said Forsberg about Owsley. "We're working our hardest to get him some wins."
Medicine Hat opened the scoring when a perfect pass from Emerson Etem landed on a wide open Shinkaruk's stick and the sophomore beat a sliding Owsley for his 43rd goal of the season. The Cougars tied it at 1-1 on a power play when Greg Fraser danced around a pair of Tigers in the slot, flipping the puck through the defenceman's legs and beating Bunz over the blocker.
The duo of Shinkaruk and Etem, centred by Dylan Bredo gave the Cougars' fits all night, often controlling the play for long stretches.
"There were a few breakdowns and they put the puck in the net," said Forsberg. "They're obviously a good line, but for the most part I thought we did a good job containing them."
Cat scratches: The Cougars played the game without Dan Gibb (unknown), Brock Hirsche (shoulder), John Odgers (wrist), Shane Pilling (upper body), Austin Daae (upper body) and Alex Forsberg (lower body). Chase Witala's three-game point streak was halted in the loss, as was Daulton Siwak's two-game points streak. The Spokane Chiefs (34-22-4-3) are in Prince George for games Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. The Cougars won both games with the Chiefs - 5-4 and 4-3 - in Spokane this season.
WHL summary:
Medicine Hat Tigers 4 Prince George Cougars 1
First period:
1. Medicine Hat Hunter Shinkaruk 43 (Etem, Bredo) 6:41
2. Prince George Greg Fraser 16 (Elynuik, Blidstrand) 18:40 pp
Penalties: McKay MH (holding) 10:40; Leier MH (unsportsmanlike conduct) 17:16.
Second period:
3. Medicine Hat Brandon Hurley 5 (Cox, Becker) 9:29
Penalties: None.
Third period:
4. Medicine Hat Hunter Shinkaruk 44 (Bettauer) 7:46
5. Medicine Hat Hunter Shinkaruk 45 (Etem) 19:42 en
Penalties: Carvaiho PG (holding) 12:36; Shinkaruk MH (interference) 14:01; Bunz MH (delay of game, served by Boston Leier) 16:27.
Shots:
Medicine Hat 13 13 17 43
Prince George 13 11 9 33
Goaltenders: Medicine Hat Tyler Bunz (W 36-14-2-2); Prince George Drew Owsley (L 18-34-0-1)
Power players: Medicine Hat 0/1 Prince George 1/4
Referees: Chris Crich, Pat Smith; Richie Rogers, Bevan Mills
Attendance: 1,532
