An 8-2 shelling at the hands of the Kamloops Blazers Wednesday night was bad enough, but it got even worse for the Prince George Cougars Friday night in Kelowna.
They got pasted 9-2 by their inhospitable hosts, the Kelowna Rockets.
Andrew Crystall scored a pair and added an assists and Scott Cousins, an 18-year-old Prince George native, also did some major damage to his hometown team with a goal and two assists.
The Cougars’ loss, combined with the Spokane Chiefs’ 6-5 win Friday in Kamloops, left Prince George clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the WHL’s Interior Conference.
The Cats (22-27-2-1) are now just two points ahead of the ninth-place Chiefs (20-37-4-1), each with six games remaining in the season.
The Cougars scored first just 91 seconds into the game. Defenceman Jonas Brondberg scored his first goal as a Cougar on a dump-in that ricocheted abruptly off the glass stanchion into the open net, with goalie Talyn Boyko out of his crease expecting the puck to slide behind the goal line.
But that dream start for Prince George suddenly turned into a nightmare when the Rockets scored three unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead into the first intermission.
Crystall tied it up with his first of two goals in the period just 40 seconds after Brondberg scored and the Rockets took the lead three minutes later on a rebound goal from Adam Kydd. Kelowna got two more on power plays. Rockets captain Tyson Feist pounced on a loose puck and made it 3-1 at the 7:17 mark and Crystall added to the total on a tap-in with Hudson Thornton off for tripping.
The shelling continued in the second period and the Rockets scored four more goals on nine shots to chase goalie Tyler Brennan for the second-straight game. The 18-year-old was yanked after allowing eight goals on 28 shots in 36:47 of playing time.
Cousins scored his third of the season to make it a 5-1 game, 3:11 into the second period, and the Cougars responded about a minute later when Carter MacAdams scored off a face-off. But Jake Lee connected on another Rockets’ power play, the third in three opportunities for Kelowna with the extra skater.
Dylan Wightman, Pavel Novak and Elias Carmichael also scored for Kelowna. Carmichael’s third-period goal was the only shot that beat Cats relief goaltender Ty Young, who made 10 saves. The Rockets outshot the Cougars 39-24.
The Cougars remain three points back of the seventh-place Victoria Royals and sixth-place Vancouver Giants, who were idle Friday.
The Cougars and Rockets will meet again twice in Prince George Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Kamloops Blazers are in town Sunday afternoon for the Cougars’ first home game since March 11. Game time is 2 p.m. at CN Centre on Fan Appreciation Day.
