The undermanned Prince George Cougars had no answers for the Kamloops Blazers dynamic duo of Luke Toporowski and his linemate Logan Stankoven.
The 20-year-old Toporowski, in his first game in a Kamloops uniform, scored twice and added an assist, while Stankoven tallied once and set up two others as the Blazers blasted the Cougars 5-1.
The box score is right here.
Toporowski was acquired from the Spokane Chiefs on Monday, which was trade deadline day in the WHL.
?HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT?
Luke Toporowski giving us a little razzle-dazzle in his Blazer debut!@blazerhockey | #WHLHoN pic.twitter.com/r5p6TO16s7
— The WHL (@TheWHL) January 22, 2022
The Blazers built up period leads of 2-0 and 4-1 as they ended the Cougars four-game win streak before 1,847 fans at CN Centre.
The Cougars were playing with just eight forwards and 14 skaters in their line up due to injuries and COVID-19 protocols.
The only Prince George goal came from Caden Brown.
Tyler Brennan took the loss with 48 saves as the Blazers outshot the Cats 53-32.
The teams complete a home-and-home tonight at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops.
Prince George is 2-5-0-1 in eight games this season against Kamloops.
The (17-18-1-1) Cougars are 3rd in the B.C. Division and 6th in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the (16-17-2) Vancouver Giants.
The (23-11-1) Blazers have the second-best record in the Conference, behind the (26-7-2-2) Everett Silvertips.
GAME SUMMARY
Scoring
Cougars: Caden Brown
Blazers: Luke Toporowski (2), Daylan Kuefler, Logan Stankoven, Reese Belton
(Note: The Cougars leading scorer, Koehn Ziemmer, had his home goal scoring streak end at seven games)
Goaltending
Cougars: Tyler Brennan (L), 60:00, 48 saves, 53 shots
Blazers: Dylan Garand (W), 60:00, 31 saves, 32 shots
Shots
Cougars: 32
Blazers: 53Â Â Â
Power-Play
Cougars: 0/1
Blazers: 0/1
Three Stars: (all from Kamloops)
1) Luke Toporowski 2) Logan Stankoven 3) Daylan Kuefler
Eight teams roll into the weekend on a winning note!#WHLScores pic.twitter.com/SgOTMcVt5A
— The WHL (@TheWHL) January 22, 2022
The WHL standings are right here.
The PG Cougars regular season schedule is right here.
Cat Scan podcast:
CAT SCAN: @Hartley_Miller sits down with Lynne Van Roode, the WHL Off-Ice Officials Volunteer Co-ordinator (Prince George) in this week’s episode | #cityofpg https://t.co/v88bFDDRza #princegeorgebc #northernbc #sports pic.twitter.com/egd1J6mU6p
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) January 20, 2022
Column:
HART ATTACK: @Hartley_Miller talks the 2nd half of @TheWHL schedule for the @PGCougars in his latest column | https://t.co/2WgrN61T4I #cityofpg #PrinceGeorge #northernbc #sports pic.twitter.com/GN4mKL0gVB
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) January 21, 2022
With files from Fraser Rogers