If opening night jitters exist, the Prince George Cougars didn’t have any.
In their first game inside the BC Division Hub, PG came out on the wrong side of a 5-4 decision against the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday at Sandman Centre.
After Logan Stankoven put the Blazers up 1-0 less than five minutes into the opening period, the youthful Cougars pushed right back, scoring three unanswered goals.
Ethan Browne ripped a shot underneath the crossbar on the power-play to even the game at 1-1.
That was followed up by a pair of firsts as rookies Carter MacAdams and Kyren Gronick lit the lamp to begin their WHL careers, giving the Cats a 3-1 advantage after 20 minutes.
It’s a first career WHL goal PARTY for the @PGCougars w/ @Cartermacadams collecting his first goal on a buzzer-beater in the #REMAXHub! pic.twitter.com/NarVbCS9dv
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 28, 2021
? @KGronick notches his FIRST WHL goal in his FIRST WHL game on the power play for the @PGCougars in the #REMAXHub! pic.twitter.com/A0zqAujtdp
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 28, 2021
The Blazers pushed back hard in the middle period courtesy of Josh Pillar and Caeden Bankier tying the contest at 3-3.
However, before the end of the second, Koehn Ziemmer accepted a lead-feed pass from Craig Armstrong, handcuffing Blazer netminder Dylan Garand for a 4-3 edge after 40 minutes.
? DON’T STOP THE PARTY?
It’s another first career WHL goal for @PGCougars scored by @koehnziemmer13! pic.twitter.com/8xonAZGS7s
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 28, 2021
The Cougars had the game in their hands until a sloppy power-play led to a shorthanded marker from Connor Zary at 5:25 of the third period and evened the score at four.
Just past the halfway point of the stanza, Kamloops completed the comeback as Stankoven, with his second of the game, buried a Peyton McKenzie feed past Cougars goalie Taylor Gauthier.
PG had a chance to draw even later in the period thanks to a slashing minor from Orrin Centazzo but was unable to capitalize.
In his first game as captain, 20-year-old Jack Sander led by example posting a pair of assists in a losing effort for PG (0-1).
Kamloops (2-0) outshot the Cats 32-22 overall.
Meanwhile, the Cougars struck twice on the power-play out of four opportunities.
The next action for PG is on Monday as they head down to Kelowna to play the Victoria Royals (0-1).
Puck drop is at 7:05 pm and you can catch all the action on 94.3 The Goat.
An exciting start with a lot of firsts. Back in action Monday night.#NorthernUprising #WHL pic.twitter.com/K15bDfhW7j
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) March 28, 2021