Leave it to the local kid.
Chase Harrington picked an opportune time to heat up for the Spokane Chiefs.
With their season hanging by a thread, the 18-year-old forward from Prince George came up aces scoring the tying goal with 56 seconds remaining as well as the overtime winner to stun the Prince George Cougars 4-3 on Thursday night.
PACK THE BUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#GoChiefsGo | #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/GQEVP6hSUJ
— Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) April 3, 2026
Despite a paltry crowd of 3,120 at Numerica Veterans Arena, the jubilation on Harrington’s face couldn’t have been more evident, pumping up the home crowd as he received first star honours.
It looked as if the Cougars were in full control holding a 3-1 lead with 10 minutes remaining.
A delay of game penalty by Riley Ashe gave Spokane a key power-play that they eventually capitalized on.
Winnipeg Jets prospect Owen Martin found the back of the net capping off a scoring play that involved Logan Wormald and Dominik Petr.
Then with Chiefs goaltender Carter Esler pulled for the extra-attacker, Harrington found a loose puck in the PG zone and beat Josh Ravensbergen to even the score at 3-3.
THE PG KID SENDS IT TO OVERTIME!!!!
Chase Harrington’s first goal of the playoffs comes in clutch, tying the game with 56 seconds left 🥵#GoChiefsGo | #WHLPlayoffs | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/FHGQVJCjjf
— Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) April 3, 2026
Carson Carels had an opportunity to clear the zone but a soft chip at the blueline allowed Petr to save the day for Spokane.
After a scoreless first period, the offensive prowess from both teams woke up in the middle stanza. Brock Souch scored his first of two in the contest at the 8:07 mark as he took a Carels pass and beat Esler for a 1-0 edge.
Brock Souch’s 5th in this series breaks the ice in game five!!!@CarlsJrCA https://t.co/gb6y2nrjbz pic.twitter.com/KeyePlCqvn
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 3, 2026
Sam Oremba replied for the Chiefs five minutes later on a transition play where a quick shot beat Ravensbergen.
Souch added his second of the game as a scrum in front of the Spokane net to see the puck bounce off his skate, slowly trickling across the goal line.
In the third, Kooper Gizowski made it a two-goal spread for the Cougars on the power-play as his one-timer slid under the cross bar and over the glove of Esler.
Kooper Gizowski knows a thing or two about powerplay goals 🚨🚨@CarlsJrCA https://t.co/92ROVYX7YZ pic.twitter.com/yqVkzPlu1C
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 3, 2026
Special teams proved huge in the game as Prince George went 3-for-3 on the man-advantage while the Chiefs were 1-for-6.
Despite dropping two of three in Washington state, the Cougars remain in the drivers seat holding a 3-2 series lead.
Prince George squandered another quality start from Ravensbergen who made 36 saves on 40 Spokane shots.
Esler turned aside 26 Cougar shots in the win.
On a more serious note, PG rookie forward Townes Kozicky suffered a medical issue at the team bench and was taken to hospital.
The last report from the Cougars social media team is that he is stable and conscious and went for further testing.
Game Six is set for Sunday at 6pm from CN Centre. If needed, Game 7 is scheduled for Monday.
Next one’s in our house. #WHLPlayoffs | #RightHereRightNow pic.twitter.com/h4W8fR8SBT
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 3, 2026
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