KELOWNA - The Prince George Cougars are winless in their last three after dropping a 4-1 decision to the Kelowna Rockets at Prospera Centre on Saturday night.
Koehn Ziemmer scored his third of the season in the second period for Prince George. Despite the loss, Taylor Gauthier turned in a solid performance between the pipes, as he stopped 30 of 34 shots.
After a scoreless first period, in which the Cougars outshot the Rockets 15-3, Ziemmer put the visitors ahead eight-minutes into the middle frame. The 17-year-old took the puck away from a Rocket along the wall, then made a bee-line to the net before he fired his shot off the goalie’s glove at 8:08. However, Kelowna responded quickly.
Kelowna’s Gabriel Szturc tied the game 13 seconds after Ziemmer’s goal. Szturc poked the puck across the goal line after it dribbled across the crease. That goal seemed to spark the Rockets.
Jake Lee put Kelowna ahead 2-1 two minutes after Szturc’s goal. The Rockets’ defenceman went upstairs over Gauthier’s glove from the left circle at 10:30. The Rockets flipped the script in the second, as they outshot Prince George 18-9.
The Cougars had a chance to tie the game early in the third period when they had a four-on-three power-play. They were inches away from making it 2-2 but Ziemmer fired it off the post. That near miss proved costly.
Just after the Rockets penalty had expired, Dylan Wightman came down the wing and threw a pass to the middle that was tipped in by a hard-charging Tyson Feist at 5:35 to make it 3-1. Lee added another to make it 4-1 with his five-on-three power-play goal at 7:09.
GAME SUMMARY
Scoring
Cougars: Koehn Ziemmer
Rockets: Jake Lee (2), Gabriel Szturc, Tyson Feist
Goaltending
Cougars: Taylor Gauthier, 60:00, 30 saves, 34 shots
Rockets: Cole Tisdale, 60:00, 33 saves, 34 shots
Power-Play
Cougars: 0-5
Rockets: 1-4
Shots
Cougars: 34
Rockets: 34
Three Stars: 1) Jake Lee 2) Cole Tisdale 3) John Babcock
Next Game: The Cougars (5-6-0-0) return home to face the Vancouver Giants (6-2-1-0) in a midweek doubleheader starting on Tuesday,. Tickets start at just $16 and are available at www.ticketsnorth.ca
