Brogan O’Brien and other veteran Cougars rose to the occasion Friday night against the WHL-worst Oil Kings.
The Prince George native recorded two goals, including a shorthander while down two men, in the Cats’ 5-1 victory over Edmonton.
.@PGCougars win 5-1 over @EdmOilKings for their 8th of the 2017-18 season, & their 3rd victory in the home barn! Brogen O’Brien with 2 goals, Taylor Gauthier stops 25 | #CityOfPG #Sports @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/QegLlvOASn
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) November 18, 2017
On 94.3 the GOAT’s post-game show, the 20-year-old was a loss for words on his rare statistic.
“I may have to research that one because I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. It’s definitely something rare; I just saw the draw was lined up kind of funny, the defenceman wasn’t ready, and in the end, it surprised them a little bit.”
Defenceman Dennis Cholowski got the scoring spree started less than five minutes into the contest on a wrister through traffic blocking Oil Kings’ goaltender Travis Child.
Kody McDonald continued to show why he’s arguably the Cougars most offensive player of 2017-18 thus far, slapping in a one-timer on a power-play later in the first period for the 2-0 advantage.
.@PGCougars capitalize on the PP with a Kody McDonald one-timer, making it a 2-0 advantage against @EdmOilKings in the opening frame | #CityOfPG #Sports @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/daAogbhEOY
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) November 18, 2017
The Lethbridge, Alberta product also assisted on O’Brien’s first goal of the night in the middle frame for his team-leading 20th point (12G, 8A).
Belarusian import Vladislav Mikhalchuk would make it 4-0 for the Cougars just 81 seconds later.
Prince George Assistant Head Coach Steve O’Rourke says the older players came through in a must-win game.
“We have had effort every single night this season for the full 60 minutes. We need to have those fresh legs because we play some of these games in under 24 hours, and our top lines get stronger and stronger, which allows us to get in that fourth line.”
O’Brien’s unicorn sighting of a short-handed goal on the five-on-three disadvantage followed Edmonton’s only tally of the game early in the third period.
The goal, initially waved off, would be approved upon further review by the officials.
.@PGCougars 5th goal on the 5-on-3 SH counts after further review! Brogen O’Brien gets his 2nd of the night | #CityOfPG #Sports @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/tKL5aQCUF1
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) November 18, 2017
Rookie goaltender Taylor Gauthier made 25 saves on 26 shots in his return to the Cougars from a fourth-place finish with Team Canada White at the World Under-17 Challenge in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John.
Prince George improves to 8-9-2-2, but still sit in fourth place in the BC Division two points back of the Vancouver Giants, who lost 6-2 in Kamloops.
Heading into the second game of a back-to-back home series with the Oil Kings Saturday night, O’Brien believes every night from now on is going to be a grind for his teammates.
“It’s probably the hardest thing to play considering we play these types of weekends a lot, so we got to learn to play the right way, forget about Friday night, and we got to make sure we come out on those Saturday nights with the same effort.”
Puck-drop goes for 7PM at the CN Centre.
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