Eighteen-year-old scoring sensation Riley Heidt made Prince George Cougars’ history Sunday in Wenatchee, setting two new franchise records, but it wasn’t enough to deliver the Cats to victory.
They lost to the Wenatchee Wild 5-4 in a shootout.
After five minutes of overtime Evan Friesen scored the only shootout goal, beating Cougar goalie Ty Young in the fifth round.
That was a bitter pill to swallow for a tired Cougar team that rallied from a 3-0 deficit and tied the game with 1:11 left and Young on the bench and the Cougar net empty.
In his 200th WHL game, Heidt led the way for the visitors with a goal and two assists.
His second assist late in the game salvaged a point in the standings. Heidt dished the puck to linemate Carlin Dezainde, who found the net behind goalie Brandon Gee for his second goal of the game to even the count at four apiece.
That gave Heidt 243 points for his 2 ½- season career, which moved the Saskatoon native past Jansen Harkins as the all-time Cougar points leader.
Heidt also set up Dezainde in the second period for his 168th assist, which broke Harkins’ career mark for helpers, set in 2018.
Heidt’s shorthanded goal 3:14 into the third period tied it 3-3, but Wild forward Briley Wood responded with his hat-trick goal less than a minute later to restore the Wenatchee lead.
Heidt and teammate Zac Funk are now tied for second in the WHL scoring race, each with 79 points, four behind Moose Jaw's Jagger Firkus.
Midway through the second period, Matteo Denis had his nose bloodied when it got in the way of a Hunter Laing shot and deflected not the net for the first Cougar goal.
The Cougars had a busy weekend which started with a 4-3 loss in Spokane. They beat the Try-City Americans 3-2 Saturday in Kennewick, Wash.
The Cougars (31-14-0-2) now rank second in the Western Conference, one point behind Portland and six ahead of the fourth-place Wild (27-16-4-0). The Winterhawks have played two fewer games than Prince George.
The Cats play Tuesday in Seattle and Friday in Vancouver before heading home for a Sunday matinee (2 p.m.) against Kamloops.
