The chances were there, but the Cougars just couldn’t capitalize in last night’s (Saturday) 4-1 loss to the Kamloops Blazers.
The loss to their Highway 97 rivals ended the Cats’ win streak at four in front of 2,321 fans at the CN Centre.
Riley Heidt scored the lone goal unassisted for the Cougars in the second period.
Alright, Heidt. @PGCougars | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/Ojtx3aE58H
— The WHL (@TheWHL) November 27, 2022
“I didn’t think we had the energy, the second effort. We did have some looks, but you need a little bit more energy, and on those chances, you need second and third chances, and we didn’t get there,” said Cougars Head Coach and GM Mark Lamb on last night’s post-game show on 94.3 The Goat.
“Percentage-wise, we needed a little bit more through the whole group, and it wasn’t there. It wasn’t like we didn’t work, we were in the game, we just didn’t have that little extra.”
Ashton Ferster opened the scoring for Kamloops (his first as a Blazer) on a costly Cougars turnover and a questionable decision by Brennan to leave the net to play the puck.
And we have a 1-0 lead 🔥🔥🔥
Ashton Ferster lights the lamp early to get us up 1.#whl #blazernation pic.twitter.com/uEqZ5eQRzt
— Kamloops Blazers (@blazerhockey) November 27, 2022
Minnesota Wild prospect Caeden Bankier scored the eventual game winner for Kamloops in the second, and added a shorthanded highlight reel goal to give the Blazers a 4-1 lead.
🎶You spin me right ’round, baby, right ’round
Like a record, baby, right ’round, ’round, ’round.🎶@blazerhockey | @mnwild pic.twitter.com/SAyISgKz0S— The WHL (@TheWHL) November 27, 2022
Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Fraser Minten also scored for Kamloops on the powerplay.
The full boxscore can be found here.
The Cougars’ four-game win streak wasn’t the only streak that was snapped in the game.
Koehn Ziemmer’s point streak ended at 14 games.
He had 10 goals and 24 points during that stretch.
The Cougars had also scored at least one powerplay goal in each of their last ten games heading into last night’s contest.
They had five powerplay opportunities last night, but failed to score with the man advantage.
The Cougars (13-10-0-0) and Blazers (11-5-3-1) are now tied atop the WHL’s BC Division standings with 26 points each, with Kamloops having three games in hand.
The full WHL standings can be found here.
The Cougars’ next game will be at home on Friday, December 2nd, against the Regina Pats, and the WHL’s leading point scorer and the projected first-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, Connor Bedard.
In Regina’s 9-5 Saturday victory in Victoria, Bedard notched three goals and added an assist.
“It’s really special, a generational type player,” Lamb said.
“We all know his name, we all watch him, we watch him at the world juniors, we’re all fans of hockey, so I think it’s going to be special for him to come to Prince George. The biggest thing about the game, is it’s another game, and nothing better than winning that game.”
Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m..