After winning two in a row, the Prince George Cougars are back in the loss column in a big way, dropping a 5-2 decision to the Penticton Vees Wednesday afternoon.
“We didn’t have enough guys, the compete factors, Bitonti was probably our best forward tonight, nothing against him, but we need a lot more than that,” said Cougars Head Coach and GM Mark Lamb on the post-game show on 94.3 the Goat.
The Cougars struggled to get anything past the visiting Vees, getting outshot 37-14 by Penticton. The Cougars mustered their most shots in the first period with six, before only putting three on Penticton goalie Andrew Reyelts in the second, and five on him in the third.
“When you play against a really good hockey team you have to have everybody going. If you don’t have everybody going, it’s going to look like that,” Lamb said. “It’s just a compete factor, having guys on the same page, some guys were in, some guys were out, and it wasn’t consistent.”
It took 16:51 into the first period before the Vees could solve Cougars netminder Peyton Shore. Graham Jones found Vegas Golden Knights prospect Noel Pakarinen directly on the doorstep, putting a point blank shot past Shore.
The Cougars answered back fairly early in the second. Jonathan Bitonti pickpocketed a Vees defender, and called his own number on a 2-on-1 opportunity for his second goal on the year.
Jonathan Bitonti makes NO MISTAKE🎯
@PGCougars https://t.co/LAuCbpPhmf
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) November 11, 2026
The tie was short lived, and the Vees pounced. About two minutes after Bitonti found the equalizer, Callum Stone put the Vees back in front with a wraparound goal.
WWWWWRAP AROUND🔁🔁🔁
@PentictonVees https://t.co/mHnRFp7yWq
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) November 11, 2026
Stone’s marker started a Penticton offensive onslaught in the latter half of the second period. At the 10:44 mark, Gavin Katz took a 2-on-1 feed from Tyden Bergeson, putting the Vees up 3-1.
Not long after Katz scored, Cougars forward and Minnesota Wild prospect Kayden Lemire dropped the gloves with Vees forward Tristan Peterson in an attempt to give his team a spark. Lemire took his helmet off prior to the fight, and was assessed a 10-minute misconduct. Less than a minute later, Jett Lajoie had a bout with Thor Liffiton to bring the 3,881 fans at the CN Centre into the game, but that excitement didn’t last long.
With 6:34 to go in the second, Lee Shurgot was sent off for high-sticking, sending the Cougars to the penalty kill. While on the advantage, Carter Cunningham pounced on a rebound to extend the Penticton lead to 4-1.
With just a little more than two minutes on the clock in the period, Noah Milford put the cherry on top, putting the puck past Shore on a short angle shot.
Short side? No problem.😉
@PentictonVees https://t.co/kNbnM2sFIn
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) November 11, 2026
In the third, Shurgot found a wide open Lemire in the slot 11:06 into the period, who fired the puck past Reyelts to make it a 5-2 game.
KAYDEN LEMIRE REPORTING FROM THE SLOT🎤🗣️
@PGCougars https://t.co/GAyIzl8q2R
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) November 11, 2026
The box score is here.
The Cougars (6-9-1-2) are 10th in the WHL’s Western Conference.
The WHL standings are here.
The Cougars’ homestand continues on Saturday as they host the Kamloops Blazers.
The full Cougars schedule is here.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing pgnews@vistaradio.ca.
