The Prince George Cougars used a thrilling third period, overtime, and shootout to come from behind and edge the Red Deer Rebels 4-3 in front of 4304 fans at the CN Centre.
Cougars' forward Ondrej Becher emerged as the hero of the game, scoring two pivotal goals and securing the victory with a shootout goal.
The Rebels showcased their prowess in the opening period, netting two goals within a 28-second span. Evan Smith notched his first of the season at 5:50, followed by Talon Brigley's fifth of the season at 6:18. The Rebels took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, outshooting the Cougars 13-8.
Although limited to three shots in the second period, the Cougars capitalized on a power-play opportunity. Zac Funk's shot deflected off a Rebel defender and found the back of the net at 14:42, narrowing the Rebels' lead to 2-1 after two periods.
The tide turned in the third period, led by the exceptional performance of Becher. The Czech forward scored his 11th goal of the season on the man advantage at 14:33 and followed up with a spectacular wrist shot from the right circle, giving the Cougars their first lead. In the final minutes, defenseman Hunter Mayo's one-timer tied the game 3-3, forcing it into overtime.
Both teams traded Grade A chances in the 3-on-3 overtime period, but the deadlock persisted, leading to a shootout. Koehn Ziemmer and Becher secured the victory for Prince George, while goaltender Josh Ravensbergen thwarted attempts by Kai Uchacz and Jhett Larson. With this win, the Cougars notched back-to-back victories, improving their WHL-best record to 13-5.
In other WHL action Friday:
TIGERS 2 WARRIORS 1
MOOSE JAW - The Medicine Hat Tigers defeated the Moose Jaw Warriors during the shootout.
Andrew Basha scored once for Medicine Hat.
Tigers goaltender Evan May saved 34 of 35 shots.
Brayden Schuurman scored once for Moose Jaw.
Warriors netminder Jackson Unger stopped 27 of 28 shots.
HITMEN 6 OIL KINGS 1
CALGARY - Oliver Tulk scored twice as the Calgary Hitmen topped the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Carson Wetsch, Ben Kindel, Dax Williams and Carter Yakemchuk all scored once for Calgary.
Hitmen goaltender Ethan Buenaventura stopped 36 of 37 shots in the win.
Rilen Kovacevic scored once for Edmonton.
Oil Kings goaltender Logan Cunningham saved 42 of 48 shots.
RAIDERS 3 CHIEFS 2
SPOKANE - Harrison Lodewyk banged in the game-winning goal at 14:19 in the third period as the Raiders edged the Chiefs.
Harrison Lodewyk scored twice while Sloan Stanick scored once for Prince Albert.
Raiders netminder Max Hildebrand blocked 27 of 29 shots.
Will McIsaac and Conner Roulette had a goal each for Spokane.
Chiefs netminder Dawson Cowan stopped 29 of 32 shots.
WINTERHAWKS 5 GIANTS 1
VANCOUVER - Gabe Klassen scored twice as the Portland Winterhawks hammered the Vancouver Giants.
James Stefan scored twice while Josh Zakreski scored once for Portland.
Winterhawks netminder Jan Špunar stopped 22 of 23 shots in the win.
Kyren Gronick had the lone goal for Vancouver.
Giants goaltender Brett Mirwald saved 42 of 47 shots.
HURRICANES 5 WILD 1
LETHBRIDGE - Kooper Gizowski scored twice as Lethbridge Hurricanes topped the Wenatchee Wild.
Miguel Marques scored twice while Blake Swetlikoff scored once for Lethbridge.
Hurricanes netminder Harrison Meneghin kicked out 41 of 42 shots.
Evan Friesen scored once for Wenatchee.
Wild netminder Brendan Gee stopped 17 of 21 shots.
SILVERTIPS 2 ROCKETS 1
EVERETT - Ben Hemmerling knocked in the game-winning goal at 7:57 in the third period as the Silvertips edged the Rockets.
Ben Hemmerling and Austin Roest had a goal each for Everett.
Silvertips netminder Tyler Palmer kept out 22 of 23 shots.
Hiroki Gojsic scored once for Kelowna.
Rockets netminder Jake Pilon saved 37 of 39 shots.
BLAZERS 3 AMERICANS 0
TRI-CITY - Dylan Ernst earned a shut out as Kamloops downed Tri-City 3-0.
Samuel Borschowa, Matteo Koci and Shea Van Olm all scored once for Kamloops.
Blazers goaltender Dylan Ernst stopped all 29 shots.
Americans netminder Lukas Matecha kicked out 33 of 36 shots.
BLADES 5 BRONCOS 4
SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. — Egor Sidorov knocked in the game-winning goal at 18:03 in the third period as the Blades edged the Broncos 5-4.
Brandon Lisowsky scored twice while Egor Sidorov, Easton Armstrong and Rowan Calvert scored once for Saskatoon.
Blades goaltender Austin Elliott stopped 16 of 20 shots.
Tyson Laventure, Rylan Gould, Brady Birnie and Luke Mistelbacher all scored for Swift Current.
Broncos goaltender Reid Dyck stopped 28 of 33 shots.
ROYALS 3 THUNDERBIRDS 2
VICTORIA - Escalus Burlock knocked in the game-winning goal at 7:51 in the third period as the Royals edged the Thunderbirds.
Ben Riche scored twice while Escalus Burlock scored once for Victoria.
Royals goaltender Braden Holt stopped 24 of 26 shots.
Eric Alarie and Luca Hauf had a goal each for Seattle.
Thunderbirds goaltender Scott Ratzlaff saved 15 of 18 shots in the loss.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2023.
This roundup was generated automatically with a CP-developed application.
The Canadian Press
