After falling behind in the second period, the Prince George Cougars took control of the offense in the second half of their battle with the Giants.
However, a comeback could not be completed Friday night, and Prince George would surrender a 5-3 loss to Vancouver on Multicultural Night in their second meeting of the 2017-18 season.
On 94.3 the GOAT’s post-game show, Cougars Head Coach Richard Matvichuk says playing a full 60 minutes will win games.
Something he adds his team is trying to accomplish when they can.
“We don’t have everybody ready, and it’s unfortunate because we do have guys, about 75 to 80% of them, that want to do the right things. Some guys were successful tonight against arguably one of the best lines in the WHL and I told them if they play properly, they’ll get those chances. We got a couple of critical goals as a result and it’s because they did the right things.”
FINAL:
3rd period comeback bid comes up just short. @WHLGiants take the opener. Cougars look for the split tomorrow night. Game sponsored by @moxies_PG! #WHL #CityofPG pic.twitter.com/1UMUlsi8VZ— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) December 2, 2017
The lone goal of the first period belonged to the visitors, which was followed by a quick tally 37 seconds into the middle frame by Ty Ronning and assisted by former Cougar and Prince George native Brad Morrison.
Tyler Benson added another for the Giants 17 seconds before Jared Bethune capitalized for the home team, with helpers from Captain Dennis Cholowski and Aaron Boyd.
Vancouver would carry on to a 4-1 lead, but a snipe from Cougars’ defenceman Josh Anderson would cut the lead in half before the 40-minute break for his first of the year.
Josh Maser kept the comeback hopes alive with a power-play goal to make it 4-3, but an empty-netter with 24 seconds left would seal the Giants’ victory.
The Houston, BC native says he’s proud to be given more time on the man advantage.
“I like to call the attacking zone my ‘office’ because it’s where most of my goals have come this year, about 15 feet from the front of the net. I like to get in front of the goalie’s eyes, when shots come in, putting rebounds in, and stuff like that.”
The Cougars drop their record to 9-14-2-2, sitting at the bottom of the BC Division.
STANDINGS ?: @PGCougars lose 5-3 to @WHLGiants on #MulticulturalNight & as a result, fall 6 points behind them in #BCDivision! Record now stands at 9-14-2-2 ➡️ https://t.co/NL0Leife8E #CityOfPG #WHL #United pic.twitter.com/hhy3CifvIB
— World Class Rock (@943theGOAT) December 2, 2017
Heading into the second of a doubleheader with Vancouver tonight, Coach Matvichuk believes his team is due for a win in their current five-game losing streak.
“We can’t take nights off, we can’t just have our top guys not show up and play for 60 minutes because this week is too good. When we do play our game, then we have a shot. It’s frustrating at times for us as coaches because we know the grind is in there and it’s a matter of us trying to get it out of the players every day. We’ll keep building up; they make the season 72 games long for a reason.”
Opening face-off is slated for 7PM at the CN Centre.
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