In a surprise twist Brett Zarowny received the call Saturday in the Prince George Cougars' net.
Less surprising was the fact the top team in the Canadian Hockey League, the Portland Winterhawks, ended Zarowny's first game in 24 days only 7:43 into the first period, beating him three times on their way to a 6-1 victory in front of an announced crowd of 2,779 on two-for-one night at CN Centre.
Zarowny may have wanted the opening goal - 26 seconds into the game - back after accidentally putting it into his own net, but the two power-play goals by the Western Hockey League's leading scorer, Brendan Leipsic, a Nashville Predators prospect, were NHL calibre goals.
Cougars head coach Mark Holick said it wasn't Zarowny's fault the Cougars were down 3-0 early.
"It's on me," said Holick. "I just wanted to change it up. Mac [Engel] has struggled a little bit as of late. He's been the main guy in practice all week and he's looked a little bit tired so I just thought I'd change it up."
The 17-year-old goalie has struggled with post-concussion syndrome since a Jan. 30 game in Tri City and didn't even dress for Friday's 6-2 loss to the Winterhawks (51-9-1-2). Last Wednesday was Zarowny's first time on the ice since being injured and he had only participated in one practice.
"It doesn't reflect the type of goalie [Zarowny] is," said Holick. "I take responsibility for it. I thought maybe if we could get him in, maybe he gets hot and gives us an opportunity there but he was fighting the puck a little bit and he had a tough time picking it up. It's on me, he wasn't quite ready."
After Saturday's loss Zarowny now has a 9-14 record in the Cougars' net this season. In addition to Leipsic's 43rd and 44th goals of the season, Oliver Bjorkstrand opened the scoring after Zarowny made the initial save on a two-on-one but the rebound slid to the open side of the net. Zarowny was able to get across and had appeared to smother the puck under his pads but pushed the puck across the goal line when he moved his leg.
"It was tough, a rebound like that, I thought I had it but I guess it squeaked in," said Zarowny, who faced 10 of the Winterhawks 31 shots.
The concussion, a result off a hit from Tri City forward Tyson Dallman, was a the first head injury of Zarowny's career. Dallman received a three-game suspension for the hit.
"It was something new and it wasn't fun sitting around the house for about a month," said Zarowny. "I feel back to normal now, back to my regular self."
Ty Rattie beat Engel for his 38th and 39th goals of the season and Preston Kopeck became the 11th Winterhawks' player to hit double digits in goals when he potted his 10th, making it 4-0.
Chase Witala broke Mac Carruth's shutout bid in the final minute of the second period when he buried a power-play goal after taking a pass from Colin Jacobs in the slot. Caleb Belter also picked up an assist at the Cats trailed 5-1 after 40 minutes.
Rattie added his second goal of the game early in the third period as Leipsic added an assist to go with his two goals. Leipsic leads the WHL with 110 points, four ahead of his teammate Nicolas Petan, who assisted on both Leipsic goals.
With the loss the Cougars (18-35-2-6) now trail the eighth place Everett Silvertips (21-35-1-4) by five points for the final playoff spot in the western conference. The Silivertips ended an 11-game losing skid Saturday when they beat the Seattle Thunderbirds (21-33-7-1) 3-2 in overtime.
The Cougars continue their five-game home stand Friday when the Kamloops Blazers (41-17-2-3) visit Prince George.
