On Friday, Oct 11th Taylor Gauthier stopped 44 of 45 shots to lead the Prince George Cougars to a 3-1 victory over the Chiefs in Spokane.
Gauthier was named first star after posting his first win of the season.
Exactly one week later, but this time at CN Centre before 1,984 fans, Gauthier blocked 37 of 38 shots to lead the Cougars to a 2-1 triumph over the Chiefs.
Once again, Gauthier was named first star, this time after posting his first “home” win of the season.
The 18-year-old from Calgary made several top-notch saves, none bigger than the one with his glove off Czech Republic import defenceman Filip Kral, who blasted a labeled slap shot from just outside the top of the circle with a minute left in the third.
“That’s the save you always dream of making,” said Gauthier on the 94.3 the Goat post-game show. “Last minute of the game, team’s up by one and you give it a little flare and give fans something to cheer about.”
Playing in eight of his team’s nine games this season, Gauthier has upped his save percentage to 0.921 while lowering his goals-against-average to 2.65.
He has been a game star in five of his last six games.
FINAL: @spokanechiefs (1) at @PGCougars (2)
STATS ? | https://t.co/yblpZE7sxL#PGvsSPO pic.twitter.com/BdWoGCLqqq
— The WHL (@TheWHL) October 19, 2019
The Cougars had their best start of the season, grabbing a 2-0 lead after the opening period while outshooting the Chiefs 14-8 in the first 20 minutes.
“I really liked our start. We lost our work ethic in the second period, but we got our composure back in the third period, killed off a couple big penalties, and found a way. That was a really gutty effort by our team,” said Head Coach and General Manager Mark Lamb.
Matéj Toman and Tyson Upper scored for Prince George, both assisted by Filip Koffer.
Upper added an assist.
The 18-year-old Koffer, from the Czech Republic, has six points (including one goal) in his last four games.
Erik Atchison tallied for the Chiefs midway through the second period on a rebound.
Spokane outshot PG 38-24.
The game summary is right here.
Prince George forward Ethan Browne, who just returned from the injured list, did not finish the game after a collision with Bear Hughes of Spokane early in the second period.
The (3-5-0-1) Cougars host the (4-4-1-0) Chiefs against this evening on Oktoberfest night where someone will win a minimum $15,000 prize in the Cougars’ Society 50/50 Mega Jackpot.
MJ 3 CGY 7
REG 1 LET 2
EDM 5 RD 1
VAN 0 KAM 6
SPO 1 PG 2
SC 0 VIC 4
BDN 3 SEA 2 (OT)
TC 1 EVT 5— The WHL (@TheWHL) October 19, 2019
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