All it took were some new pads for Taylor Gauthier to get back on track.
After a disappointing home and home series against the Kamloops Blazers, the Prince George Cougars gutted out a 2-0 shutout victory on Wednesday against the high-powered Lethbridge Hurricanes in front of 1,967 fans at CN Centre.
Gauthier stared into the eye of the hurricane and was picture perfect snatching 37 shots for the 18-34-4-4 Cougars.
“I think right from the start I was seeing the puck really well and the guys in front of me did a really good job of keeping guys to the outside, letting me see the shots that I could save and at the end of the day it was a full team effort,” said Gauthier.
“We had a rough weekend against Kamloops and going in against another good team in Lethbridge we knew we had to battle but I think we did a good job of playing structured eliminating a lot of odd-man rushes against.”
.@tgoats_35 of @PGCougars pitches 37-save shutout in 2-0 win over @WHLHurricanes in @TheWHL action from @CNCentre #CityofPG #sports #NorthernUprising pic.twitter.com/HpVHZ3noyn
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 5, 2020
Lethbridge carried the play in the first period outshooting the Cougars by a 10-5 margin but Gauthier and his new goalie pads made a couple of big stops to keep the game scoreless after 20 minutes.
In the second, Mitch Kohner took a cross-ice feed from Filip Koffer and deflected the puck past Hurricanes goalie Bryan Thomson for a 1-0 lead.
Gauthier continued to steal the show, going a perfect 16-for-16 in the middle frame against the vaunted Lethbridge offence, which includes World Junior gold medalists Calen Addison and Dylan Cozens.
Vladislav Mikhalchuk sealed the victory for the Cougars on the power-play with 38 seconds remaining, taking an Ethan Browne pass and flipping it into an empty net.
Cozens said they threw everything including the kitchen sink on Gauthier but it still was not enough.
“We just ran into a hot goalie. We were all over them and we deserved to win that game, we had way more chances but their goalie took over the game for them and he played a great game.”
“We were getting lots of good chances but we have to realize that it’s just one game, we have to look at the future and we played a good game but they had a great night, we’re not leaving too disappointed, we did the right things and we’re in the playoffs so that’s all we’re focused on.”
.@Dylan_Cozens of @WHLHurricanes speaks with @mypgnow post game after 2-0 loss to @PGCougars at @CNCentre in @TheWHL action @BuffaloSabres #CityofPG #sports pic.twitter.com/28s6evh15b
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 5, 2020
Lethbridge drops to 37-17-2-5 in the ultra-tough Central Division, two points up on the Medicine Hat Tigers for second place.
The Hurricanes continue their three-game BC road swing Friday in Kamloops against the Blazers.
Addison believes the team has to turn the page.
“Our team is really skilled and fast and it speaks for itself with the 18 guys we have with double-digit points but at the end of the day, Prince George kept it simple but putting us on the outside and didn’t let us get to the net.”
.@calenaddison of @WHLHurricanes speaks with @mypgnow after 2-0 loss to @PGCougars in @TheWHL action from @CNCentre #cityofpg #sports pic.twitter.com/FOIOGWhzPB
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 5, 2020
Cougars Head Coach and General Manager Mark Lamb is of the opinion that a couple of recent off days helped his team refocus their attention to detail.
“We regrouped and reset and played a real strong game tonight. I thought Gauthier was good when he had to be but the team in front of him played well and when we needed Taylor he was there.”
Prince George wraps up its home portion of the schedule for the 2019-20 WHL regular season against the surging Vancouver Giants (32-23-3-2) Friday and Saturday at CN Centre (7:00 pm both nights).
Lamb touched on whether or not the momentum from Wednesday’s win will carry over into the weekend.
“We feel very good about how we played, momentum is a word that a lot of people use but you’re not going to keep the same momentum into the next game, you have to create it, reset and play the same way all the time and you have to motivate yourself the right way.”
“Just because we played good tonight doesn’t mean you’re automatically going to play well on Friday night and have the same results.”
.@PGCougars Head Coach Mark Lamb chats post game with @mypgnow after 2-0 win over @WHLHurricanes in @TheWHL action from @CNCentre #cityofpg #sports #NorthernUprising pic.twitter.com/zXM0mIBdJQ
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 5, 2020
This is the first time Lethbridge has been shutout this season.
The Cougars are nine points back of the Seattle Thunderbirds for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with both teams having eight games remaining.
#WHLThreeStars ⭐⭐⭐
Wednesday, March 4, 2020 pic.twitter.com/svEsAACCwc— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 5, 2020
CGY 4 SAS 3
SPO 6 EDM 2
LET 0 PG 2
VAN 2 KAM 4
TC 2 POR 11— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 5, 2020