The Prince George Cougars gave it everything they had trying to try to atone for their mistakes earlier in the game, but the Spokane Chiefs were not in a forgiving mood.
The Chiefs bent, but did not break, and hung on to beat the Cats 3-2 Friday in front of a packed CN Centre with 5,290 in attendance.
On a night punctuated by penalties, Curtis Miske's even-strength goal 10:48 into the third period stood up as the winner, helping the Chiefs (30-25-5-4) end a three-game losing streak at the expense of the Cougars (35-27-3-1).
Leading 1-0 after Keanu Yamamoto took advantage of a 3-on-1 chance when defenceman Tate Olson fell at the blueline, the Chiefs started the second period on the power play and just missed doubling the count when Miske grazed the goalpost. But with 1:40 gone in the period and the teams playing five-a-side, Jaret Anderson-Dolan was left alone in the slot. The 16-year-old Calgary native took a pass from Miske standing behind the net and wired a high wrister in on Ty Edmonds' stick side.
At that point, Cougars head coach Mark Holick got out the hook and pulled Edmonds, who showed his disgust by smashing his stick on the boards as he headed into the tunnel.
The Cougars' struggles with penalties, which resulted in five straight minors, actually helped turn their fortunes in the second period. With five minutes gone in the second period and Shaun Dosanjh serving a checking from behind minor, Sam Ruopp spotted Jesse Gabrielle streaking through the neutral zone and fed him a perfect pass on the fly. Spokane goalie Tyson Verhelst got a piece of the shot but not enough to stop it and Gabrielle, who turns 19 on June 17, became the youngest 40-goal scorer in Prince George Cougars history.
It was the seventh shorthanded goal this season for Gabrielle, who has half of the Cougars' WHL-leading 14 goals while on the penalty kill.
At the eight-minute mark, Luke Harrison led a 2-on-1 shorthanded rush and fed the puck to a wide-open Kody McDonald, but Verhelst got across in time to stop it. Midway through the period, Cougars winger Aaron Boyd lifted a backhander high while standing all alone in front of the Chiefs' goal. Those missed opportunities would come back to haunt the Cougars.
The Cats had a couple of power plays of their own late in the second period and early in the third but the Chiefs penalty-killers were superb, holding their opponents without a shot.
The Chiefs notched the winner after Markson Bechtold stripped the puck from Chase Witala in the Cougars' end. Bechtold swept a pass over to Miske in the slot, who misfired on his shot attempt but the puck deflected into the net off his skate.
The Cougars answered less than two minutes later on a power play, finally cashing in their fifth manpower advantage. Jansen Harkins won a face-off in the Chiefs' end, took a return feed from Olson and walked in from the point to beat Verhelst with a low wrister to make it a 3-2 game with 6:56 still to play.
The Cougars came oh-so close to knotting it. Harkins and Brad Morrison were denied on Verhelst's doorstep with less than three minutes to play. Then, with McBride on the bench, Harkins directed a shot from the deep slot that deflected off a Chief and nailed the goalpost with 55 seconds left. They had another shot at tying it with a second left but Verhelst covered up.
The same teams meet again tonight
(7 p.m. start).
Friday's loss, combined with the Kamloops Blazers' 3-2 win at home against Kelowna, left the third-place Cougars just three points ahead of fourth-place Kamloops in the WHL's B.C. Division standings. The Chiefs increased their lead over the Tri-City Americans to six points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Americans lost 5-3 Friday in Portland.
Friday WHL summary
Chiefs 3 at Cougars 2
First Period
1. Spokane, Ke.Yamamoto 19 (Elynuik, Sozarski) 8:04 (pp)
Penaltoes - Witala PG (charging) 7:30, Elyniuk Spo (holding) 13:21, Kopeck Spo (holding) 13:39, Harkins PG (slashing) 19:14.
Second Period
2. Spokane, Anderson-Dolan 12 (Miske, Bechtold) 1:40
3. Prince George, Gabrielle 40 (Ruopp) 5:56 (sh)
Penalties - Zorko PG (high-sticking) 2:32, Dosanjh PG (checking from behind) 4:08, Witala PG (checking to the head) 6:52, Olson PG (hooking) 11:43, Bechtold Spo (elbowing) 16:30, Toporowski Spo (tripping) 17:35, Faith Spo (fighting), Gabrielle PG (instigating, fighting, misconduct) 19:57.
Third Period
4. Spokane, Miske 12 (Bechtold) 10:48
Penalties - Helgeson Spo (tripping) 4:57, Ke.Yamamoto (slashing), Dosanjh PG (slashing) 8:07, Helgeson Spo (holding) 12:58.
Shots on goal by
Spokane 7 5 10 --22
Prince George 9 8 13 --30
Goal - Spokane: Verhelst (W,22-19-1-4), Prince George: Edmonds (8 shots-6 saves) and, at 1:40 of second, McBride (L,12-10-1-1).
Power plays - Spo: 1-8; PG: 1-5.
Referees - Adam Grifiths, Adam Watt; Linesmen: Nixk Bilko, Nathan Van Oosten.
Attendance - 5,290.
Scratches - Spo: D Jason Fram (upper body) , D Evan Fiala (healthy), C Wyatt Johnson (upper body), RW Kailer Yamamoto (upper body), RW Jacob Cardiff (upper body); PG: D Joel Lakusta (healthy), RW Josh Curtis (healthy), RW Adam Kadlec (healthy), C Justin Almeida (healtjhy), D Josh Anderson (back, out for season).
