Prince George native Dorrin Luding stood his ground against the team he grew up watching Tuesday night, posting a 28-save performance in front of family and friends in a Seattle sweater.
Along with his quickness on the puck, the Cougars were also caught in recovery mode from a long journey south of the border this past weekend.
In the end, the reigning WHL-champion Thunderbirds would defeat Prince George 5-2 .
“We had lots of chances to score I believe,” said Cougars Head Coach Richard Matvichuk on 94.3 the GOAT’s post-game show.
“I thought our feet were kind of stuck in mud even though the effort was there. We just tried to do too much individually, which didn’t help us at all and we couldn’t find the back of the net. The little plays at each blue-line when pucks have to go deep and guys not finishing their checks was the difference.”
The Cats were able to put increase Ludnig’s nerves, ringing a puck off the cross-bar minutes into the contest, and forward Max Kryski would eventually open the scoring, potting his fourth of the year for the early 1-0 lead.
.@PGCougars get an dinger off the crossbar, giving local product Dorrin Luding of #Seattle an early wake up call in the 1st period | #CityOfPG #Sports @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/1DGmOybiFs
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) January 17, 2018
Seattle soared back with four unanswered goals spanning 20 minutes from the middle of the first frame to the middle of the second, which also included two within 34 seconds of each other.
Matvichuk adds turnovers during that time frame got the best of his team.
“For some reason, it just wasn’t there for us. This is where we have to step up and take charge of the game, especially with the older guys. Believe me, we’re not happy with tonight, but we’ll regroup.”
Jackson Leppard gave the more than 2,400 fans a slight glimmer of hope, pulling the Cougars to within two goals on a power-play.
.@PGCougars cut lead in half thanks to Jackson Leppard (@jacksonleppard) on the PP with less than 2min left in the 2nd period; it’s now 4-2 for @SeattleTbirds | #CityOfPG #Sports @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/M2FogEmUOA
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) January 17, 2018
A slow third period saw no scoring until the final 60 seconds of regulation when the Thunderbirds placed the puck in the empty net.
Defenceman Joel Lakusta assisted on both Prince George goals, having to pick up some of the extra work on the blue-line since Josh Anderson’s and Dennis Cholowski’s respective trades.
The 19-year-old says he feels confident in handling more responsibility and asserting extra leadership for the rookies.
“I know my coaching staff and my teammates have faith in me. I know what I’m capable of and I just got to do it more often and more consistently. So there’s no added weight on my shoulders, I’m just doing what I got to do out there.”
.@PGCougars Defenceman Joel Lakusta: “I feel there’s more responsibility, but there’s no added pressure or nervousness.” | #CityOfPG #Sports @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/M59X9VZ6Ww
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) January 17, 2018
The Cougars’ record drops to 16-21-4-3, but thanks to a Kamloops loss against Lethbridge, they remain in fourth place in the BC Division and ninth in the WHL’s Western Conference.
Prince George faces Seattle for the fourth and final time of the 2017-18 season tonight, 7PM at the CN Centre.
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