Ethan Samson was the shooter and Taylor Gauthier was the trapper.
Together they went on a hunt for points in the WHL standings Friday night at CN Centre and they were loaded for bear as soon as they spotted the Kamloops Blazers.
Gauthier was targeted with 50 Blazers shots and barely flinched on Toque and Teddy Bear Toss Night. The 20-year-old veteran made 48 saves to bite the Blazers 3-2.
Gauthier has a history of making 50-plus saves in a game that ends in a Cougar win over Kamloops. He did that three times in the 2019-20 season.
“I don’t know what it is, I just feel really good against these guys,” said Gauthier. “There a little bit extra will to win throughout the whole team and I think everyone played a good game tonight. At the end of the day, the two points is all that matters.”
Samson scored two goals, including the game winner in the third period.
The 19-year-old defenceman fulfilled the immediate concerns of Cougar fans and his teammates when he picked off a Fraser Minten clearing attempt off the boards and fired from his point position through a crowd in front of Dylan Ernst to open the scoring 4:07 into the game The Kamloops goalie didn’t see the shot through a tangle of bodies in front of him but he knew what was coming in the aftermath and headed for the Blazers’ bench to take cover as hundreds of soft toys and wrapped winter clothes rained down on the ice from the pandemic-limited crowd of 2,984.
That goal served as wakeup call for the Blazers, still smarting from a 6-1 loss at home Friday to the Seattle Thunderbirds, their worst defeat in an otherwise stellar season. They owned the puck for much of the rest of the opening period. Matthew Seminoff was the primary beneficiary when he took a feed from teammate Daylan Kuefler and rifled it past Gauthier to tie the game at a goal apiece at the 10:19 mark. Despite that, Gauthier was air-tight in the opening 20, making 16 saves.
Neither team scored in the second period but Gauthier was the busier of the two goalies, stopping all 14 shots he faced, including a sharp glove save to rob Reese Belton with 5.7 seconds left.
The Cougars gained the lead again after a penalty-kill to start the third period. Riley Heidt served a two-minute sentence for shooting the puck over the glass and just as he returned to the ice he came close to snagging a breakaway pass. The loose puck rolled to goalie Ernst, who cleared it into the corner onto the stick of Cougar winger Craig Armstrong. He fed it back to Heidt, who let go a shot that ticked off the stick of Viktor Persson and it floated over the shoulder of Ernst into the net.
Belton tied it 2-2 just 31 seconds later with a double-clutch offering from the low slot, fed to him by linemate Tye Spencer standing behind the Cougar net.
The icing on the Cougar cake came while the teams were playing 4-on-4 in the third period. Samson seized a puck sliding up the right side of the Blazer zone and let go a slapper that sailed into the net to put the Cats ahead permanently. Gauthier was up to his usual antics at the other end, flashing his leather glove to deny the likes of Nick McCarry and his gang of Blazers, who put 19 shots on goal in the final period.
Public health orders prevented them from enjoying the benefits of a full-house boogie, but even a half -capacity crowd at CN Centre was enough to put some extra quicksilver in the skates of the Cougar players.
“It was unbelievable, it’s definitely a whole different game whenever we have that many fans here,” said Gauthier. “I’ve always said, a packed CN Centre is like nothing else in the league, it’s really fun to play in and it just feeds energy into you. Every big save I made or every big play the team had, the fans were going nuts. It felt like a lot more than 50 per cent tonight.”
Coming off a 3-2 win Friday in Kelowna, the four-point weekend improved the Cougars ‘ record to 10-14-0-0 as they crept within five points of the Rockets for sixth place in the Western Conference. The Blazers (18-6-0-0) remained second in the conference.
“We can all feel it coming together now, the last two games we’ve really played together as a team and had a really good weekend and it’s set us up for a good last week before the Christmas break here,” said Gauthier. “It’s important to go into Christmas on a high note so you can enjoy your break and not have to worry about where you are in the standing when you come back after. It’s still early in the year ”
LOOSE PUCKS: Ty Young backed up Gauthier in net. The 17-year-old native of Coaldale, Alta., has played 17 games in the AJHL this season for the Calgary Canucks, sporting a 3.38 goals-against average and .918 save percentage with a 4-10-3 record. He’s taking the place of Tyler Brennan, who hurt his ankle in the third period of Friday’s game… The Blazers were without two of their best players, both away at Team Canada’s world junior camp this weekend in Calgary. Goalie Dylan Garand has already made the team, as Canada will carry three goalies in the tournament, Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Edmonton and Calgary. The 19-year-old from Victoria was part of last year’s world junior team for their silver-medal run, along with Gauthier. Garand has a 14-2-0-0 record this season with 1.76 goals-against average and .935 save rate. Stankoven played in May for Canada’s U-18 team that won world championship gold. At the time he left for the world junior camp he was fifth in WHL scoring with 12 goals and 29 points in 19 games… The Vancouver Giants return to Prince George for a doubleheader at CN Centre Tuesday and Wednesday.
Saturday WHL summery
Blazers 2 at Cougars 3
First Period
1. Prince George, Samson 3, 4:07
2. Kamloops, Seminoff 14 (Kuefler) 10:19
Penalties – None.
Second Period
No scoring.
Penalties – Armstrong PG (tripping) 6:18, Kam bench (too many men), served by Spencer) 13:22, Bowie PG (delay of game) 14:48, Brinson PG (tripping) 17:12.
Third Period
3. Prince George, Heidt 5 (Armstrong) 3:28
4. Kamloops, Belton 6 (Spencer, Bairos) 3:59
5. Prince George, Samson 4, 6:09
Penalties – Heidt PG (delay of game) 1:17, Pillar Kam (roughing), Brown PG (roughing) 5:02, Brandwood Kam high-sticking) 8:46.
Shots on goal by
Kamloops 17 14 19 -50
Prince George 8 9 9 -26
Goal – Kamloops, Ernst (L,3-2-0-0); Prince George, Gauthier (W,5-5-0-0).
Power plays – Kam: 0-4; PG: 0-2.
Referees – Kyle Kowalski, Anthony Maletta; Linesmen – Tylr Garden, Blair Scott. Video goal judge – Terry Foulds.
Attendance – 2,984.
