The Prince George Cougars got an incredible 45-save outing from goalie Ty Young and overtime heroics from Koehn Ziemmer on the way to 4-3 victory over the Kamloops Blazers.
After a fast-paced opening period, the Cougars started the scoring late in the frame, courtesy of a Hudson Thornton point shot on the power-play at 18:30. The Cougars remained ahead by a goal after the opening 20 minutes.
In the second, the Blazers were able to get one back as a Cougar power play expired. Logan Stankoven got the puck at the left side of the goal and tied the game up at one at 4:14. A few minutes later, the Cougars got another marker from Thornton on the power-play as his point shot found its way through traffic and trickled in. The Cougars went into the dressing room ahead 2-1.
In the third, it was Stankoven once again who scored his second of the night to tie the game from the left circle. In the final two minutes, the Blazer captain was able to come in clutch scoring his hat-trick goal , throwing the puck off the back of Young and into the net to give Kamloops a late 3-2 lead. The Cougars called their time-out, and it proved to work as Chase Wheatcroft tied the game with 40 seconds remaining to force overtime.
In the extra frame, the first Cougar shot in OT went top shelf from Koehn Ziemmer to propel the Cougars to a resilient and character win over the Blazers.
The win evened the Cougars’ second-place B.C. Division record to 5-5-0-0 and they’re now two points behind the division-leading Blazers (5-3-1-1), who lost 6-3 Sunday to the Vancouver Giants in Langley..
GAME NOTES
- The Cougars win back-to-back games for the first time this season.
- Koehn Ziemmer leads all Cougars in goals with seven.
GAME SUMMARY
Scoring
Cougars: Thornton (2), Wheatcroft, Ziemmer
Blazers: Stankoven (3)
Goaltending
Cougars: Ty Young 60:59 (W), (3 GA, 45 Saves)
Blazers: Michael Schnattinger (OTL) 61:17 (4 GA, 25 Saves)
Power-Play
Cougars: 2/3
Blazers: 0/5
Shots
Cougars: 29
Blazers: 48
Three Stars:
1.KAM: Logan Stankoven (three goals)
2.PG: Ty Young (45 Saves)
3.KAM: Logan Bairos (one assist)
Next Game: Friday vs. Seattle Thunderbirds at 7 p.m., CN Centre.
