Jayden Shull saved his best performance for the brightest stage.
The Vancouver Northwest Hawks goaltender stood tall in a 2-0 shutout victory Saturday night over the Cariboo Cougars, in the BC Winter Classic at the Ernie Sam Memorial Arena in Fort Saint James.
Shull outdueled Cougars netminder Kenny Gerow who also played well but didn’t receive any goal support.
“Right when the puck dropped it didn’t feel real, it was so awesome because it wasn’t hard to get into it. This doesn’t happen that often at this level and I really reccomend it for whoever comes next time,” said Shull.
“The ice was good too and the fans were great as it made us part of the community.”
Jayden Shull of @NorthWestHawks chats with @mypgnow post game after 2-0 over @cariboocougars in BC Winter Classic from @NakazdliWhuten in Fort Saint James #cityofpg #sports pic.twitter.com/E5t6SGXubT
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) January 19, 2020
After a scoreless first, Cariboo picked up the pace in the middle frame, peppering Shull with high quality shots including a 2-on-oh involving Hunter Brown and Zach Leslie where both were robbed point blank.
The (21-7-0-1) Hawks broke the goose egg on the power play courtesy of Ben Kotalyk who beat Gerrow short side for a 1-0 lead.
Cariboo pressed hard for the equalizer in the third period but a bad line change in the dying seconds allowed Kotalyk to bury his second of the game into an empty net.
Final score 2-0 in favour of the @NorthWestHawks. Incredible battle tonight for both teams and a great experience for both teams tonight. #DefendTheNorth #CaribooHockey #BCWinterClassic @BCHockey_MML @BCHockey_Source @PGMatters @mypgnow @PGSS_Polars pic.twitter.com/jmWZ6Ap83X
— Cariboo Cougars (@cariboocougars) January 19, 2020
This marked the third consecutive defeat for the (17-8-1-1) Cougars, who are 5th out of 11 teams in the BC Major Midget League standings.
Both teams play the rematch on this afternoon at 12:30 indoors from the Fort Forum.
The Major Midget League schedule/results/standings right here.
In Midget Female action, the Northern Capitals fought tooth and nail against the top-ranked Greater Vancouver Comets but fell 5-4 in a Saturday matinee game from the Forum.
Hailey Armstrong opened the scoring for the Caps off a 2-on-1 rush with Nancy Moore beating Comets goaltender Jordyn Verbeek.
Vancouver potted three straight goals to end the period courtesy of Jenna Buglioni, Grace Elliott and Vanessa Schaefer.
In the second, the pace and the physical play picked up where Caps defender Kiera Mulder survied a head-on collision against Vivian Finch.
Both teams traded goals with Madisyn Wiebe lighting the lamp for Vancouver while Ella Boon replied for the Caps.
After Elliott made it 5-2 for the Comets, the Capitals got two late goals including one from Mulder to get with one.
The (10-9-2) Capitals came within an eyelash of tying it as a shot went past Verbeek but didn’t count as the buzzer sounded.
Candice Petticlerc-Crosby took the loss in goal for the Caps who finish off the triple-header outdoors this morning at 9:00 from the Ernie Sam Memorial Arena.
The (18-1) Comets took the opener in Vanderhoof on Friday by an 8-2 score.
The BC Female AAA standings are right here.