One team is hot and the other is not.
The Victoria Royals won their fifth in a row (all on home ice) while the Prince George Cougars suffered their 10th loss in their last 11 games.
The Royals doubled the Cougars 4-2 with five of the six goals coming in the third period, the last one into an empty net.
The line score and game highlights are right here.
Riley Heidt, on his 17th birthday, tallied both goals for P.G. before 2,592 fans in Victoria.
Same side, same outcome. The birthday boy has two!@PGCougars https://t.co/jzTyaKpodF pic.twitter.com/66YWMgS4uo
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 26, 2022
Tyler Brennan suffered the loss in net, as he stopped 20 of 23 shots.
Prince George was 1-3 on the power play and 2-2 on the penalty kill.
“We were certainly happy with our effort through 40 minutes. The intensity was there. In the third, we had one mistake that ends up in the back of our net, then a disallowed goal. We’re inches away from winning hockey games,” said Cougars’ Associate Coach Josh Dixon.
Victoria netminder Tyler Palmer, who had a 35-save shutout in his last start against Prince George, blocked 31 of 33 shots. He has now stopped 66 of the last 68 shots the Cougars have fired at him.
The game winner was scored by Riley Gannon at 2:19 of the third. Brennan went back to play the puck behind the Cougars’ net, but had his stick lifted by Tanner Scott, who then fed Gannon out front to make it 3-1.
The Cougars visit the Royals again tonight and then they play the Vancouver Giants Sunday at 4:00 p.m. in Langley.
Prince George is 8-4 this season against Victoria, but the Royals have won four of the last five.
The (20-35-2-1) Cougars are tied with the (19-36-4-1) Spokane Chiefs for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, seven points behind the (22-34-5-1) Royals and the (23-31-4-0) Giants.
Prince George and Vancouver have 10 games remaining, Spokane has eight left and Victoria has six remaining.
“I, I’m a one way motorway
I’m the one that drives away
Then follows you back home
I, I’m a street light shining
I’m a wild light blinding bright
Burning off and on”#WHLScores pic.twitter.com/5raMMeeweK— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 26, 2022
GAME SUMMARY
Scoring
Royals: Gannon Laroque, Marcus Almquist, Riley Gannon, Wyatt Wilson
Cougars: Riley Heidt (2)
Goaltending
Royals: Tyler Palmer (W), 60:00, 31 saves, 31 shots
Cougars: Tyler Brennan (L), 57:27, 20 saves, 23 shots
Shots
Royals: 24
Cougars: 33
Power-Play
Royals: 0/2
Cougars: 1/3
Three Stars:
1) Tanner Scott (Victoria)
2) Tyler Palmer (Victoria)
3) Riley Heidt (PG)
The WHL standings are right here.
The PG Cougars regular season schedule is right here.
CAT SCAN: @Hartley_Miller sits down with @PGCougars co-owner Eric Brewer in this week’s episode
| https://t.co/xjSoJEdADF #CityOfPG #PrinceGeorge #northernbc #sports pic.twitter.com/Bi4yI6ms9Z— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 24, 2022
With files from Fraser Rodgers
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