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Cougars on the rise as they take on Blazers

In case Prince George Cougars goalie Taylor Gauthier was wondering whether his teammates are prepared to break through walls to help him succeed, those doubts were laid to rest Wednesday night at CN Centre.
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Matej Toman of the Prince George Cougars breaks out of his zone, with Kamloops Blazers forward Brodi Stuart hot on his heels during a September preseason game at CN Centre. The Cougars will host the Blazers tonight and Sunday afternoon. – Citizen file photo

In case Prince George Cougars goalie Taylor Gauthier was wondering whether his teammates are prepared to break through walls to help him succeed, those doubts were laid to rest Wednesday night at CN Centre.

The Kelowna Rockets caught the 17-year-old Gauthier in an awkward moment with just eight minutes left in the third period when he tried to clear a loose puck from behind the net and put it off his own goalpost, allowing Rockets forward Kyle Topping to score shorthanded into an open net for a 3-2 lead.

The tension built until the final minute of regulation time when, with 16.3 seconds left and Gauthier on the bench for the extra skater, Vladislav Mikhalchuk knocked in the rebound of Cole Moberg's shot from the point to tie the game.

That sent it to 3-on-3 overtime and with a shootout looming, Jackson Leppard stole the puck in his own end, skated the length of the ice and dragged the puck back on his stick to avoid two Kelowna checkers. He got a pass through to Josh Maser, who deflected it up and into the Kelowna net with six seconds left in OT for a dramatic 4-3 victory.

"We hit some unlucky bounces but we like to battle for (Gauthier), he's played pretty well as of late and we know we all make mistakes and it's hard when you're the goalie," said Moberg. "Not everything's his fault. He's still young, still learning in this league and he's been really good for us.

"We're all staying positive in the room and building a winning culture and not expecting any less than a win."

It was a team-builder of epic proportions for a Cougar team on a roll, winners of four of their last five games, as they prepare to host the Kamloops Blazers tonight and Sunday afternoon at CN Centre.

"We could have shut down after that mishap in the third, and even Gauthier could have collapsed but he made some really big saves in overtime that kept it where it was at," said Cougars head coach Richard Matvichuk. "It's great to see that young group that we have just keeps developing and the maturity keeps getting better and they don't take no for an answer. We could have just quit by we didn't.

"Our goal for the group is to keep getting better every day and we feel we're doing that."

It's not the first time the Cougars have shown they are a resilient bunch but it was by far the most exciting finish they've provided their fans this season.

"I thought we played pretty well for the first 40 minutes and it was a tough goal to give up at the end there but we made it back up and thankfully we got the win," said Maser.

"It was a real nice feed from Jackson there, and I just tapped it in, kind of where I score most of my goals. I don't know how he got that puck through. I kind of saw two guys on him and kind of thought he lost it. It was a great pass by him."

The Cougars pulled Gauthier with 2:10 left in the third period and a lot of the credit for the comeback has to go to the defencemen who did their jobs holding the puck in the offensive zone and not allowing the Rockets a shot at the empty net.

The 17-year-old Moberg excelled all game with his puck movement, stick positioning and awareness of where the play was heading. He tied the game in the second period with his sixth goal and his assist on Mikhalchuk's tying goal left the second-year defenceman second in team scoring 14 points. He leads the team with 51 shots on goal.

"He skates so well, he sees the ice so well and he has his defence-first mentality and he's getting the opportunity," said Matvichuk. "The way he reads rushes is amazing and the future's so bright for him."

Gauthier was a bit of a surprise starter in net Wednesday after Isaiah DiLaura posted his first-ever WHL shutout in the previous game Sunday in Vancouver. With both playing well lately (Gauthier blanked the Seattle T-birds two weekends ago for his first career shutout), Matvichuk and the Cougars have confidence in whichever goalie stands in the crease.

"It's a great problem to have that you know both can go in there and win a hockey game," said Matvichuk.

Wednesday's win moved the Cats (9-8-1-2) into second place in the B.C. Division, one point ahead of the Victoria Royals (10-6-0-0). The Royals have four games in hand over the Cougars. This will be the first time this season they've played the Blazers (6-9-1-1), who rank last in the Western Conference.

The Cougars are in the midst of a five-game homestand that also includes games next weekend against Regina and Saskatoon. After that they'll become road warriors, playing just two of their next 15 games at CN Centre. Factoring in the Christmas break, that's a home-game famine that will run from Nov. 25 to Jan. 10.

"The more time you can make hay at home you have to be able, especially at this time of year when guys start thinking about Christmas and it's our job to keep them focused," said Matvichuk.