With their top two scorers out of the lineup, the Prince George Cougars still generated enough offence to beat the road-weary Moose Jaw Warriors.
The Cats downed the Warriors 2-1 in a Tuesday night Western Hockey League game at CN Centre. The Cougars played without top point-getter Colin Jacobs, who was serving the second of a six-game suspension for a checking-to-the-head penalty against the Victoria Royals last Friday. Prince George was also missing the injured Alex Forsberg, who was hurt during the weekend doubleheader against the Royals. The Warriors, meanwhile, were at the tail end of a seven-game grind away from home.
While the Cougars didn't have the services of Jacobs and Forsberg, they did have forward Troy Bourke back in the lineup. And the draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche looked as sharp as ever. Bourke hadn't played in almost a month because of a shoulder problem but was a threat on the majority of his shifts with linemates Daulton Siwak and 15-year-old Brad Morrison, who was playing his third game with the Cats this season. Bourke finished the night with one beautiful assist, on a first-period marker by Siwak that turned out to be the game-winner. Early in the third period, Bourke also created a chance for himself on a backhand deke but was denied by the post. For his efforts, he was chosen as the game's first star.
One of the other standouts for the Cougars was goaltender Brett Zarowny, who stopped 33 of 34 Moose Jaw shots and made several key saves in the third period to preserve the win.
The Cougars led 2-0 after 20 minutes and 2-1 after 40.
In the opening moments of the second period, Sam Fioretti pulled the visitors into a one-goal deficit when he gained a step on Prince George defenceman Raymond Grewal, broke in on Zarowny, and scored high. Later in the middle frame, after a Moose Jaw turnover at the Prince George blueline, the Cats missed a glorious opportunity to restore their lead. Zach Pochiro and Ryan Hanes found themselves skating in all alone on Moose Jaw goalie Justin Paulic but Hanes couldn't coax the puck past him on an initial shot and a poke at a rebound.
In the first period, Jarrett Fontaine and Siwak staked the Cougars to their 2-0 lead. Fontaine scored from the high slot after he one-timed a pass from his cousin, Jordan Tkatch. Fontaine fired low on Paulic for his fourth goal of the season. Then Siwak and Bourke played a high-speed give-and-go to perfection, with Siwak doing the finishing into an open net. The goal was his seventh of the year.
In the game, the Cougars were also missing forward Chase Witala because of an injury.
With Tuesday's result, the Cats ended a three-game losing streak and improved to 10-14-1-3 on the season. The Warriors dropped to 11-13-3-4.
Next up for the Cougars is a Friday game in Kamloops against the Blazers.
