A promising playoff run by the Prince George Cougars ends in heartbreak.
Jacob Kvasnicka’s game-winning goal at 2:16 of overtime secured a 3-2 victory for the Penticton Vees on Sunday night in front of 5,632 at CN Centre.
The Vees won the best-of-seven series 4-2.
After sleepwalking through the opening 40 minutes, Penticton pushed the pace in the third period, capitalizing on their opportunities.
Penticton bench boss Fred Harbinson told MyPGNow.com he knew his club was capable of much more after getting outshot 33-12 in the first two periods.
“For some reason, we just didn’t have the juice in the first two (periods) and you have to give the Cougars credit. They were pressing us hard and we had a real tough time getting out of our zone, which meant we weren’t going through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone with any sustained pressure.”
“After the second, I said we have nothing left to sit back for now and while we can’t lose the series tonight, we can win it if we get going. This team all year long has shown their resilience,” added Harbinson.
Fort Saint James product Diego Johnson put the Vees on the board at the 1:58 mark of the third period accepting a nifty feed from import Samuel Drancak, trimming the deficit to 2-1.
Roughly 12 minutes later, Penticton received some offense from an unlikely source as veteran blueliner Doogan Peterson slipped into the Cougars slot and beat goaltender Josh Ravensbergen to even the score at 2-2.
Prince George notched all its offense in period two. After a solid defensive play, Carson Carels rushed the puck up the Penticton end, blasting a hard shot past Vees netminder Andrew Reyelts for a 1-0 lead.
CARSON CARELS DOES IT ALL HIMSELF#NHLDraft | @CarlsJrCA https://t.co/eZ4YjDWGTZ pic.twitter.com/OIvI5IFyYH
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 20, 2026
Lee Shurgot doubled the PG lead at the 17:12 mark as he crept into the Vees slot, getting another past Reyelts.
LEE SHURGOT EXTENDS THE LEAD ON THE POWERPLAY!@CarlsJrCA pic.twitter.com/xMdLRmUX41
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 20, 2026
The Cougars nearly made it 3-0 as Brock Souch slithered a pass to Terik Parascak who was robbed point blank.
Even though no goals were scored in the opening 20 minutes, the Cougars made sure to punish a Penticton player at every turn.
Case in point, the duo of Corbin Vaughan and Bauer Dumanski resembled the second coming of the Bash Brothers in relation to the old Mighty Ducks movies from the 90’s.
Dumanski recorded two solid jolts to uplift the raucous crowd – his best one came in front of the penalty box where he flattened Vees forward Noah Milford.
Then Vaughan lowered the boom on Kvasnicka just inside the PG blueline.
PG’s best offensive chance of the first period came off the stick of Jett Lajoie, who tried to catch Reyelts facing the goal – the 19-year-old from Minnesota got back in time to rob him with the glove.
Despite only mustering four shots in the opening 20 minutes, Penticton’s best chance came on a 2-on-2 rush where Louis Wehmann found Brady Birnie where he was ultimately denied by Ravensbergen.
The Cougars outshot the Vees 42-25 and went 1-for-1 on the power-play while Penticton never went up an extra-man.
Lamb Laments what could have been
In do or die situations, the losses sting that much more. Nobody knows that better than Cougars head coach and general manager Mark Lamb.
Lamb who chatted on the post-game show with Hartley Miller and Cole Waldie on 94.3 the Goat is proud of the way the team battled despite being down some bodies.
“It is such a gut punch right now and it is hard to put into words. Right from the start, and a lot of people didn’t give us a chance, but we have come a long way and we have had some really good teams here, we have had a lot of skill, but this team had the right attitude all year long.”
“If you are inside the room and you see what these kids were going through and you see how they work, this loss really hurts because we deserve better. This group is special.”
Since 2019-20, Lamb has guided the Cougars through its most consistent stretch to date making the playoffs in five straight seasons – the best campaign in 2023-24 where the club went 49-15-0-4, losing in six games to the Portland Winterhawks in the Western Conference Final.
On top of that, Lamb’s ability to find talent has also been key coaching the likes of a strong core that included Riley Heidt, Koehn Ziemmer, Vilam Kmec, Ondrej Becher, Parascak, Ravensbergen, Dumanski, Hudson Thornton and Borya Valis.
Lamb also struck it rich in trades and through the waiver wire uncovering hidden gems such as Zac Funk, Chase Wheatcroft, Brock Souch and Kooper Gizowski – all of whom have enjoyed career years.
PG has also hit on some solid draft choices such as Carels, Aiden Foster, Kayden Lemire, Jett Lajoie and Arsenii Anisimov.
“I think we have done a really good job in turning this organization around. A winner isn’t exactly someone who is carrying the cup around – it’s how you go about your business, how you play, how you treat your teammates. It’s a whole bunch of things that go into winning and we are going in the right direction.”
Dumanski’s last dance
Sunday’s heart wrenching defeat put an abrupt end to the WHL career of Dumanski.
The Lockwood, Saskatchewan product set a record for games played as a defenceman in Cougars history with 309 in the regular season followed by 48 playoff matchups.
Dumanski who fought back tears on the post-game show, will remember his time with the Cougars quite fondly.
“I am sad to see it end for sure, I am honoured to wear the jersey and carry this city with me for the rest of my life.”
The 20-year-old enjoyed a career-high in goals (9) and points (39) along with a shot-block prowess that was second to none, endearing himself to the Cougar faithful.
“It’s been my home for the last five years and there are just no words to put it all out there.”
“The last year has been worth every second, with every guy in that room. I got to play with a lot of great players who are my best friends.”
Dumanski ends his WHL tenure with 24 goals and 89 assists to go along with a +55 rating.
Rise Up Reyelts
After allowing seven goals on 30 shots in a pair of losses in Games 1 and 2, Reyelts found a way to regroup and deliver at money time for Penticton.
The Proctor, Minnesota product was lights out down the stretch stopping 65 of 67 PG shots in Game Five and Six.
Reyelts who went 29-6-6-2 during the regular season didn’t get too fazed by the early series adversity against the Cougars.
“At the end of the day, the biggest thing is trusting my guys that we are going to get the job done. I think in the first two games I tried to do a little too much on my own, but I got back to the faith I had in the regular season on my teammates pulling through and the same goes for me.”
In a series that saw timely goals, jaw-dropping hits, questionable officiating and downright chaos from the Cougar fans, Reyelts admits this was a unique experience.
“I have never been through anything quite like these playoffs but this is what we are built for and this what the regular season trains us to do, and I think we are ready for what is next in Everett.”
Harbinson agrees while it would have been easy to go with overage netminder Ethan McCallum while they were in a 2-0 hole against PG, he elected to bet on Reyelts bouncing back – a move that paid off handsomely.
“He was so solid all year that whenever he had a tough game or two, he always seemed to rebound – we talked about all the different options we could go through and at the end of the day, he had won so many games, he deserved to come in here and have a chance.”
“We don’t win the game tonight without him.”
Age is just a number
Penticton boasts one of the oldest rosters in the WHL with 16 players 19 years of age or older, a stat widely talked about in this series.
However, Harbinson refuses to buy into the roster make up and would rather celebrate the accomplishments of his group being a first-year major-junior franchise.
“We don’t give a sh*t about how old our guys are; we care about how hard they play. I couldn’t tell you about the ages of the players on the other teams. I get tired of hearing about how old we are – it is about the grit of the team. If you are playing hard, you have a chance to win. Nobody is going to take away what these guys did because of their age.”
“Nobody cared at the start of the year, and they aren’t taking this away from them. They worked their asses off as did PG in what was a hell of a series,” added Harbinson.
Penticton went 44-14-6-4 during the regular season, claiming the BC Division by eight points over the Cougars.
The Vees also set a new Western Hockey League record for most wins by an expansion team, accomplishing that feat on February 21st a 7-3 win over the Regina Pats.
Heading into Game 6, PG was down three key forwards in Dmitri Yakutsenak (upper body), Aiden Foster (second game of two-game suspension) and Townes Kozicky (ruptured spleen).
Penticton scratched blueliner Callum Stone (injured) along with forwards Kash Alger East and Brooks Demars.
Sunday’s loss marked the final WHL game for Dumanski, Dawson Seitz and Gizowski.
Gizowski, who was claimed off waivers last summer from the Lethbridge Hurricanes posted a career-high 72 points in 67 games – including 32 goals and 40 assists.
The 20-year-old from Edmonton also tallied four goals and nine assists in 12 playoff outings.
Seitz on the other hand, was a trade deadline acquisition from the Wenatchee Wild in exchange for a late-round draft pick.
He played a middle six role mainly providing sandpaper.
Seitz who had eight points in 26 regular season games with the Cats also claimed a league title with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2021-22.
The loss likely marks the end of the line for San Jose Sharks top prospect goaltender Josh Ravensbergen who is committed to Michigan State next season (NCAA) while Terik Parascak, a 2024 first-round pick of the Washington Capitals will no doubt get a long look to stick in the minors next fall.
Ravensbergen went 91-30-4-2 in three regular seasons for the Cougars tallying 10 shutouts while amassing a 2.68 goals against average and a .909 save percentage.
In the same time frame, Parascak netted 266 points in 192 regular season games.
The Lethbridge, Alberta product finishes the 2026 postseason with 17 points in 12 games.
Penticton advances to the Western Conference Final to play the top-seeded Everett Silvertips. In the East, the Prince Albert Raiders will play host to the high-flying Medicine Hat Tigers.
Tonight’s Post Game reaction with GM & HC Mark Lamb and Captain Bauer Dumanski.https://t.co/1R86bWpHdt pic.twitter.com/6iuTuXT6BM
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 20, 2026
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