If goalie Tyler Brennan of the Prince George Cougars was trying to make a case to play for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, consider the case made.
However, his exceptional performance wasn’t enough as the Cats fell 4-2 to the Portland Winterhawks last night (Wednesday).
Brennan made 33 saves on 36 shots, including several huge stops in front of 2,378 fans at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.
TY IS THAT GUY. @PGCougars | @NJDevils pic.twitter.com/kY6FltOEyH
— The WHL (@TheWHL) December 8, 2022
“We talk about it all the time, but I definitely thought that was one of Brennan’s better games,” said Cougars Assistant Coach Carter Rigby on last night’s post-game show on 94.3 the Goat.
“Consistent for 60 minutes, he gave us a chance, when things got hairy, he stayed in there and was focused. That’s obviously his last game before he heads off to world juniors, and happy and proud for him to play like he did here to set himself up for hopefully success.”
Portland’s second goal, scored by Gabe Klassen, was reviewed for a kicking motion, but was eventually allowed.
Good things happen when you put the puck on net!
Like @gabe_klassen goals. Those are always good. pic.twitter.com/SxtpkKC3kJ
— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) December 8, 2022
Brennan will be joined at world juniors camp by defenceman Ethan Samson, who also played a strong game, notching a goal on a 5-on-3 powerplay, as well as an assist in the loss.
Samson with the
♨️ sizzler ♨️@PGCougars | @NHLFlyers pic.twitter.com/FJRmM4yZb2
— The WHL (@TheWHL) December 8, 2022
“You take away the goal, he’s physical, his gaps good, his skating, he didn’t try to do too much, making sure the puck got up the ice,” Rigby said.
Koehn Ziemmer scored for the Cougars as well, his 17th of the year and added an assist.
The Winterhawks broke a 2-2 tie at 5:05 of the third and later put the game away with an empty net goal.
The full boxscore can be found here.
The Cougars (14-13-0-0) are now five points behind the BC Division-leading Kamloops Blazers (14-6-3-2), who lost to the last-place Victoria Royals (4-21-3-0) by a 5-2 score last night.
The full WHL standings can be found here.
The Cougars’ five-game road trip will continue with a double-header against the Tri-City Americans (12-13-0-0) this weekend.
The full Cougars schedule can be found here.