To the land of the peaches, we go.
In a series that had injuries, hard hits, lots of emotions and timely goals, the Prince George Cougars found a way to finish the job on Easter Sunday.
A two-goal performance by Russian import Dmitry Yakutsenak as well a key goal from Riley Ashe was the difference in a 5-3 win over the Spokane Chiefs in front of 5,376 fans at CN Centre.
With the Game Six win, the Cougars claim the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal 4-2.
However, the festive evening started off with some early turbulence as it would be the Chiefs who struck first courtesy of Winnipeg Jets prospect Owen Martin.
Carson Carels got caught up ice, leading to an odd-man rush where Logan Wormald dished off to Martin, who had yawning cage to beat netminder Josh Ravensbergen.
Nine minutes later, PG finally settled in as Yakutsenak notched his first of two in the contest.
A pass by Arsenii Anisimov found the 18-year-old sniper who slid into position going short side on Spokane netminder Carter Esler.
Playoff Yak Attack!!@CarlsJrCA https://t.co/NVkxUMMMa4 pic.twitter.com/69VzqZEqGt
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 6, 2026
A Nathan Mayes checking from behind penalty allowed the Cougars to set up shop on the power-play early in the second.
A Carels pass found Kooper Gizowski from his favorite spot on the man-advantage, just outside the face off dot, blowing a one-timer past Esler for a 2-1 edge.
KOO!!! PER!!! Giz puts us in front!@CarlsJrCA https://t.co/tfNq2rTtS9 pic.twitter.com/qcvOxlkNCX
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 6, 2026
Martin punched back for Spokane with his second of the game as Wormald found him in the slot, beating Ravensbergen making the CN Centre crowd a touch nervous.
Sometimes in a heated playoff series you need your depth to step up and PG got that in spades courtesy of Ashe who came streaking through the neutral zone on a 2-on-1, blasting the puck top corner past Esler restoring the Cougars lead.
Patience. Patience. Patience. @CarlsJrCA https://t.co/IaQ11vXgQW pic.twitter.com/0ooCs6yyUu
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 6, 2026
Two minutes later, Yakutsenak was sprung on a partial breakaway thanks to a clear out by captain Bauer Dumanski. The Russian went upstairs on Esler extending the edge to a pair.
Dmitri Yakutsenak with a LASER to extend the lead! 🎯🎯@CarlsJrCA https://t.co/v7o22mapQU pic.twitter.com/USTyrb2PEH
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 6, 2026
Spokane head coach Brad Lauer pulled Esler in favour of the extra-attacker with over three minutes remaining looking to make the box score a wee bit closer.
Off a face-off win, Terik Parascak rushed down the ice, gained the Chiefs zone and lifted the puck past a sprawled out Coco Armstrong to salt away the series.
Sam Oremba notched his final WHL goal with four seconds remaining to trim the lead to 5-3.
Prince George outshot the Chiefs by a 29-24 margin and went 1-for-1 on the power-play while Spokane was 0-for-2.
Ravensbergen turned aside 21 visiting shots for the victory. The San Jose Sharks prospect finishes the series with a 2.61 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.
Not to be outdone, Brock Souch was a Chief killer in the six-game set registering five goals and six assists.
PG now moves on to play the Penticton Vees in round two, which is to start Friday and Saturday from the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Games 3 and 4 shifts back to CN Centre set for Tuesday, April 14th and Wednesday, April 15th. Puck drop for both games is at 7pm.
In their first year in the WHL, Penticton claimed the BC Division with a mark of 44-14-6-4, eight points ahead of the Cougars.
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