The Prince George Cougars ran into a grinch Sunday afternoon in their final game before the Christmas break.
His name is Brayden Watts and the Vancouver Giants forward left two lumps of coal in the Cougars stockings, scoring twice on rebounds to give the Giants a 2-1 victory on home ice at Langley Events Centre.
Both of Watts’s goals came on Vancouver power plays and his second of the game was especially tough to swallow for a Cougars team trying to end a lengthy losing streak. It came with just 50 seconds left while the Cats were still killing the second half of a 5-on-3 disadvantage.
It’s safe to say referees Jeff Ingram and Brett Iverson are not on Richard Matvichuk’s Christmas list. Mike MacLean’s interference penalty in which he put a clean check on Dylan Plouffe while fighting for a loose puck just inside the Giants blueline drew the Cougar coach’s wrath. They guys in stripes also let Plouffe get away with a couple of cross-checks, one he landed on MacLean’s face before he was led to the penalty box. Then with 2:19 left, Cats defenceman Rhett Rhinehart cleared the puck over the glass, resulting in the two-man disadvantage. Rhinehart still had 31 seconds left in his penalty when Watts delivered the game-winner.
Bowen Byrum’s shot bounced off the chest of goalie Taylor Gauthier right to a waiting Watts, who backhanded in the loose puck.
Watts tied the game 9:23 into the second period, after Gauthier made the first save.
“We deserved a better fate,” said Matvichuk, on the post-game broadcast “Two veteran officials, that call on MacLean was terrible, probably cost us at least a point. But I thought the guys, with what’s been going on in the streak we’ve had on this trip with the travel, they laid it on the line today and for three periods I thought we played really good.”
Jackson Leppard was the only Cougar to beat David Tendeck, the game’ second star. Leppard was standing in the slot when he intercepted a behind-the-net clearing attempt from Plouffe and fired a shot through Tendeck’s legs to open the scoring 4:02 into the game.
The Cougars had several great chances to make it a 2-0 count about four minutes into the second period while on the power play but Tendeck stood his ground, making four saves in rapid succession. First he blocked a point shot from Ryan Schoettler, then twice denied Josh Maser in front and got his stick in the way of Ethan Browne’s crack at the rebound from the side of the net to keep it a one-goal game. Not long after, Ilijah Colina hit Tendeck in the chest with a wide-open shot from the slot.
The Cougars ended up 0-for-5 on the power play, while the Giants cashed in two of their five chances.
The 17-year-old Gauthier played one of his better games this month and made 32 saves as the third star of the game. His team was outshot 34-31.
“He was fantastic and made the big saves when he had to and even made the two saves you’re supposed to as a goalie for the power play,” said Matvichuk. “Just the bounces went in. The defenceman has to be able to clear that puck there.
“(Goalie coach) Taylor Dakers has been doing a fantastic job with him. When he plays the way he should, like he did tonight, it gives our team a real good chance to win.”
The win improved the Giants’ hold on first place in the B.C. Division and they go into the Christmas break with a 22-8-2-0 record, 21 points ahead of the fifth-place Cougars (11-19-1-2) who remained last in the Western Conference. The Cougars have lost nine of their last 10 games.
“They can go home now and enjoy the Christmas holidays, a lot of these guys haven’t seen their family and friends for three-plus months and you just have to put hockey on the backburner for awhile,” said Matvichuk.
“They deserved a better fate today and if we play like that for the remaining games we’re going to come out on top and make a playoff run here.”
The Cougars resume their 11-game road trip on Friday, Dec. 28 in Kent, Wash., where they’ll meet the Seattle Thunderbirds. They also play that weekend in Everett and Kamloops and won’t be back on home ice until Jan. 11.
