Shane Collins thought he had the teddy bear goal everybody in the building was waiting for.
Turns out, his Prince George Cougars teammate Colby McAuley got a piece the puck with his stick before it found its way into the Victoria Royals' cage behind Griffen Outhouse.
In the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter who the triggerman was on the equalizing goal which touched off the avalanche of flying furry animals - the first of a four-goal Cougars' outburst which led to an 8-2 win over the visiting Royals in front of full house at CN Centre.
In their last home game of the calendar year, the Cats had seven different goalscorers.
Obviously frustrated Friday in their 2-0 loss to Victoria, a game in which they couldn't catch a single break, the Cougars took it out on the Royals and gave them a taste of their own medicine, seizing their opportunities to score.
"It was great to win 8-2 against these guys, especially after getting shut out, it was pretty fun, especially in the second period, we started putting everything in the net and (Nick) McBride was making some big saves," said Collins.
"We're battling them in the standings right now and we have two more games right after the break against them, so this was huge for us. We've only had a couple of losses in the last six or eight weeks and it's great to finish off with a win."
The goal that got the fur flying came on a Cougars' power play 14:39 into the game, with Royals leading 1-0 on a power play effort from Russian import Vladimir Bobylev.
Collins took a bouncing pass from defence partner Joseph Carvalho and fired a low wrist shot from just outside the face-off circle and it ticked off McAuley's stick and into the net low to Griffen Outhouse's glove side.
The high-decibel reaction from the crowd was enough to make McAuley's evening.
"It's a good feeling to get the goal, but having all these fans here and getting that first goal with all the teddy bears was awesome - we love it when the fans are here and it's a loud atmosphere," said McAuley.
"Obviously, everybody wants to get that goal but you have to stay focused and keep your mind set on having the win. They were two points ahead of us and now we're tied. We wanted to have a good game after a bad loss (Friday)."
The Cougars chased Outhouse to the bench with three more goals in the first six minutes of the second period.
On Friday, 17-year-old former Cariboo Cougar midget made 39 saves for his first WHL shutout.
Chase Witala's one-timer from the slot, his 21st goal this season and first of four points in the game, gave the Cats the lead.
Then Brogan O'Brien redirected Witala's shot-pass to make it 3-1 on a P.G. power play.
Jared Bethune added to the count at the 6:26 mark, prompting Royals acting head coach Enio Sacilotto to bring goalie Coleman Vollrath into the game after Outhouse had allowed four goals on 23 shots.
To the Royals' credit, they didn't quit, and former Cougar Alex Forsberg gave them some life with his 12th goal of the season, a wicked blast coming off the left wing.
Forsberg is no stranger to teddy bear festivities at CN Centre. He scored the first goal for the Cats in their 2012 game and was wearing a Saskatoon Blades jersey last year when Zach Pochiro collected his teddy bear marker.
"We had our fair share of chances, but in the third there, we can't give up like that, especially with them being so close to us in the standings," said Forsberg, who played three seasons for the Cougars.
"We just have to have a better battle in us and we can't forget this one."
Down 4-2, the Royals turned ferocious late in the second period and took some quality shots on McBride, who was equal ot the task. After fighting the puck in the first period, the 18-year-old Cougar goalie got better with age and was there to bail out his teammates with timely saves. He stuck out his trapper to rob Marsel Ibragimov while lying flat on his side, left Forsberg shaking his head with a standup save, and ended the period with a couple of stellar stops on Tyler Soy and Jack Walker.
"For me, it was almost a tale of two games out there,"said McBride.
"The first half I was a bit nervous with the big crowd and after that second goal I really picked it up and played a much better game in the second half. We were really getting the breaks today."
Any Victoria hopes of comeback vanished in the third period. Jesse Gabrielle joined the 20-goal club 1:57 into the period and Brad Morrison scored a pair of goals after assisting on Bethune's goal.
Cougar rookie Kolby Johnson got his stick on a loose puck behind Vollrath for his the fiirst goal of his WHL career after Aaron Boyd's close-range backhanded jam-in attempt trickled though the goaltender's equipment.
The win left the Cougars (21-11-1-1) and Royals (21-12-1-1) tied for second place in the WHL Western Conference standings, five points behind the WHL-leading Kelowna Rockets. The Cougars have one game in hand over the Royals, who they will meet after the Christmas break Dec. 27 and 28 in Victoria.
"They gave it to us (Friday) and we didn't appreciate losing to those guys - we were on a pretty good run at home and we really wanted to hand it to them," said Morrison.
"Seeing a big crowd like that reminds me of when I used to go the games when I was seven or eight or nine years old in the early 2000s. The city of P.G. is there and they want to come to the games,]. We have a good team and we just have to put some wins up and that will bring the fans out."
LOOSE PUCKS: The Royals were without their top defenceman, Detroit Red Wings 2014 draft pick Joe Hicketts, who will play for Canada in the world junior tournament. National team duty also called Royals head coach Dave Lowry. He's the bench boss for Team Canada at the world junior tournament, which starts Dec. 26 in Finland... After volunteers had cleared away most of the stuffed toys destined for Salvation Army gift hampers, Citizen managing editor Neil Godbout made it an unforgettable night for his fiance Ronda Krafta when he got down on one knee and proposed to her at centre ice under the spotlight. In front of 5,540 witnesses, she accepted, and with their kids in tow they jumped on board the Fanboni and drove off dragging a trail of strung tin cans... That was the biggest crowd in two seasons since the new ownership group took over the Cougars franchise in March 2014.
