Cougars fall to Giants in first game of homestand

The Prince George Cougars kicked off a four-game homestand on a low note, dropping a 5-2 decision to the Vancouver Giants.

The Giants scored early, and rode strong performances from Anaheim Ducks forward prospect Mathis Preston and New York Islanders goalie prospect Burke Hood to pick up the win over the Cougars.

Jakob Oreskovic got the Giants on the board with a shorthanded marker before all of the 2,906 fans at the CN Centre could get to their seats, putting the puck past Peyton Shore with wrist shot that trickled past the Cougars netminder just 1:02 into the game.

Oreskovic scores short-handed to light the lamp first tonight! 🚨 https://t.co/5Fx381t31q

— Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) October 21, 2026

Preston extended the lead late in the opening period, and tacked on another 8:48 into the second, swatting home a feed in the slot to put the Giants up 3-0.

Couldn’t get Preston’s first goal, but here’s his second 🤩

The @AnaheimDucks prospect scored in the first assisted by Hartmann and Chorney, then scored again in the second assisted by Parr and Holowaychuk 🚨🚨 https://t.co/VoG5klbBML

— Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) October 21, 2026

The Cougars made a strong push in the third period, starting with a Tre Peck powerplay marker that just beat the glove of Hood 8:15 into the third.

Pretty passing play by PG on the power play 🤭

@PGCougars https://t.co/tnwlq0suTw

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) October 21, 2026

The Prince George push continued a short time later, with Townes Kozicky scoring to cut the Giants’ lead to 3-2. However, Preston completed his hat trick to put the Giants back up by two, and Crosby Mateychuk added a late marker to cement the 5-2 win for the Giants.

The box score is here.

The Cougars (3-4-0-1) are 11th in the WHL’s Western Conference.

The WHL standings are here.

The Cougars will have a shot at some revenge over the Giants Wednesday night at the CN Centre.

The full Cougars schedule is here.