With a 3-2 win Saturday night, the Prince George Cougars are headed to Spokane with a 2-0 series lead in the first round of the WHL Playoffs, thanks to another stellar performance from Josh Ravensbergen.
“Really nice to go up 2-0. We bent and bent, and we didn’t break and we won the game,” said Cougars Head Coach and GM Mark Lamb on the post-game show on 94.3 the Goat.
“They really put a push on, we didn’t have a lot of answers there for a while, we had Rav.”
The Chiefs piled on the shots, outshooting the Cougars 45-24 on the night. The Chiefs almost matched the Cougars game total in the second period alone, where they outshot the Cougars 23-4 in the middle frame.
Unfortunately for the Chiefs, Ravensbergen was incredible on the night, turning away 43 shots, including a kick save in the dying seconds of the third to seal the win and send the 5,933 fans at the CN Centre into a frenzy.
“When things don’t go our way up front, we expect that from Rav. He’s always there for us, he was outstanding,” Lamb said.
Calm. Cool. Collected. Josh Ravensbergen.@CarlsJrCA . @SanJoseSharks pic.twitter.com/tzsDjBkee2
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) March 29, 2026
Down 3-0 in the third, the Chiefs found the scoreboard with a shorthanded marker. Ethan Hughes pickpocketed a Cougar, and fired a perfect shot past Ravensbergen.
HUGHESY ON THE BREAKAWAY 🚨
Ethan Hughes gets us on the board with a shorthanded beauty at 7:23 in the third!#GoChiefsGo pic.twitter.com/5yXyzmMOus
— Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) March 29, 2026
“A lot of different emotions happen in games, it’s 3-0 there, we have a powerplay and that could’ve put the game away,” Lamb said.
“They get that shorthanded goal and then they put the pressure on, even though they were putting the pressure on before that, then we miss the empty net, and then it was just, we’re just all over the place after and we have to depend on Rav.”
With Linus Vieillard on the bench for the extra attacker, Tyus Sparks scored a late goal with 2:37 to go, bringing the Chiefs within one.
SPARKY ONE TIMER PUTS US WITHIN ONE 💥#GoChiefsGo | #WHLPlayoffs | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/PdwTXe8lpm
— Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) March 29, 2026
It was a strong performance for Broch Souch as well, who opened the scoring 9:27 into the first period, and added an assist on the eventual game winner.
Souch pounces on a juuuuuicy rebound to open the scoring in game two!@CarlsJrCA https://t.co/CFMxOQjba1 pic.twitter.com/SF3BqeoQPM
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) March 29, 2026
Shortly after Souch broke the ice, Kooper Gizowski found a wide-open Lee Shurgot in the slot, who then trickled one past Vieillard with a backhand shot.
Leaving Lee Shurgot that open in the slot is certainly a choice. @CarlsJrCA https://t.co/T9xT56gJb6 pic.twitter.com/iPpvyXJsOM
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) March 29, 2026
Gizowski capped off the scoring for the Cougars in the second period, taking a cross-ice feed on the powerplay and firing home his first of the post-season.
Kooper Gizowski powerplay goals in the regular season? Great.
Kooper Gizowski powerplay goals in the playoffs? Even better!@CarlsJrCA https://t.co/B3sbYEXie3 pic.twitter.com/zVmmlPNX0C
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) March 29, 2026
The box score is here.
Game three will be played in Spokane tomorrow (Monday) night.
Game four will go on Wednesday, and if necessary, game five will be played Thursday.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing pgnews@vistaradio.ca.
