Prince George Cougars' rookie forward Chase Witala had an assist for Team Pacific but it wasn't enough as they lost 4-2 to the United States on Monday, bouncing the B.C. and Alberta boys out of medal contention at the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Windsor, Ont.
Team Pacific will face Quebec tonight at 4 p.m. (PST) in the fifth-place game, while the USA plays Sweden in one semifinal. Russia plays Ontario in the other semifinal. At the 2011 tournament in Winnipeg, Ontario claimed the gold medal beating the USA in the final. Team Pacific won bronze.
Meanwhile, Team West with three members of the Cougars - Alex Forsberg, Jordan Tkatch and Jarrett Fontaine - will battle Germany today for ninth place in a battle of 0-4 squads.
In their final round-robin game, Team West fell 6-3 to the Russians after giving up three third-period goals on 17 shots, breaking a 3-3 tie after 40 minutes. Tkatch gave Team West a 3-2 lead late in the second period, but the Russians tied the game before the end of the period. Fontaine picked up an assist.
The tournament wraps up Wednesday with the bronze- and gold-medal games.
