The Prince George Cougars used a third-period comeback to defeat the Kelowna Rockets by a 5-4 score, Saturday at Prospera Place.
Terik Parascak and Koehn Ziemmer had two goals apiece and both scored critical goals in the third to give the Cats the victory.
The game kicked off with a quick start from Kelowna, as captain Gabriel Szturc showcased his scoring prowess by notching his eighth goal of the season just 36 seconds into the match. Despite being outshot 14-7 in the first period, the Cougars remained resilient, setting the stage for an electrifying contest.
The second period unfolded into a goal-scoring frenzy, with Terik Parascak leading the charge. Parascak's short-handed goal at 3:11 leveled the playing field, but Kelowna responded swiftly with a power-play goal from Tij Iginla at 5:05.
A fight between Prince George's captain, Hudson Thornton, and Trae Johnson aimed to spark momentum for the Cougars, but Kelowna extended their lead with goals from Iginla and Szturc. In the waning moments of the period, Ziemmer's tally brought the score to 4-2, keeping Prince George in contention.
The third period belonged entirely to the Cougars.
Less than five minutes in, they outshot Kelowna 7-0, prompting the Rockets to call a timeout to shift the momentum. Undeterred, the Cougars mounted a comeback. Zac Funk's power-play goal at 7:41 narrowed the gap, and Parascak's second goal at 11:11 levelled the score. In the final minutes, on the power play once again, Ziemmer netted a rebound at 16:12, securing the lead and ultimately the win for the Cougars.
The Cougars (16-6-0-0) return to CN Centre for a three-game homestand, starting Friday against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
The Rockets (7-12-2-0) have lost their nine games.
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WILD 8 CHIEFS 6
SPOKANE, Wa. — Matthew Savoie scored a hat trick and added one assist as the Wenatchee Wild outlasted the Spokane Chiefs in a high-scoring affair, 8-6.
Briley Wood, Connor Geekie, Kenta Isogai, Hayden Moore and Rodzers Bukarts, with an empty-net goal, scored for Wenatchee (12-8-2).
Rasmus Ekstrom, with two goals and one assist, Conner Roulette, Owen Martin, Ben Bonni and Chase Bertholet replied for Spokane (7-8-2).
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HURRICANES 4 GIANTS 3 (OT)
LANGLEY, B.C. — Noah Chadwick scored the game-winning goal 47 seconds into overtime to lift the Lethbridge Hurricanes to a 4-3 comeback victory over the Vancouver Giants.
Kooper Gizowski, with two goals, and Leo Braillard chipped in for Lethbridge (11-8-2).
Cameron Schmidt scored twice, while Tyler Thorpe added the other for Vancouver (8-12-1), which held a 3-1 edge 11:03 into the third period.
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TIGERS 3 WHEAT KINGS 2
BRANDON, Man. — Cayden Lindstrom had a goal and an assist as the Medicine Hat Tigers edged the Brandon Wheat Kings 3-2.
Tyler MacKenzie and Hayden Harsanyi also scored for Medicine Hat (14-6-2).
Jayden Wiens and Nate Danielson all scored once for Brandon (9-9-4-1).
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BLADES 4 BRONCOS 1
SASKATOON — Egor Sidorov scored two goals, Brandon Lisowsky added a goal and two assists and the Saskatoon Blades pushed past the Swift Current Broncos 4-1.
Trevor Wong also contributed a goal for Saskatoon (15-6-0).
Ryan McCleary put Swift Current (11-10-1) on the board.
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THUNDERBIRDS 4 SILVERTIPS 1
SEATTLE, Wa. — Scott Ratzlaff had a 42-save performance, Eric Alarie had a goal and two assists and the Seattle Thunderbirds topped the Everett Silvertips 4-1.
Antonio Martorana, Sawyer Mynio and Coster Dunn also scored for Seattle (9-7-1).
Beau Courtney scored once for Everett (13-8-1), which got 23 saves from Tyler Palmer.
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WARRIORS 7 OIL KINGS 3
MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Pavel McKenzie scored twice to lead the charge in the Moose Jaw Warriors' 7-3 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Ethan Semeniuk, Denton Mateychuk, Atley Calvert, Brayden Schuurman and Jagger Firkus added the others for Moose Jaw (13-9-0-1).
Blake Fiddler, Gavin Hodnett and Marc Lajoie answered for Edmonton (6-14-0-1).
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REBELS 3 HITMEN 2
RED DEER, Alta. — Matthew Gard capped a two-goal effort with the eventual game winner at 8:56 of the third period and the Red Deer Rebels edged the Calgary Hitmen 3-2.
Kai Uchacz scored the other for Red Deer (7-9-0-3).
Keets Fawcett and Sean Tschigerl, whose goal made it a one-goal game with 59 seconds remaining, responded for Calgary (9-9-2).
- with files from The Canadian Press
