Defenceman Joel Lakusta was the quiet hero for the Cougars’ Tuesday night clash with the Kelowna Rockets.
The 19-year-old was on for every Prince George goal and despite only managing a goal and an assist, it was enough to power the Cats to a much-needed 4-1 victory over the best team in the BC Division.
FINAL: @PGCougars beat BC’s best @Kelowna_Rockets 4-1 in return to home ice; @tgoats_35 makes 20 saves for his 6th win of the season | #CityOfPG #Sports @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/56iJ5KalYU
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) February 28, 2018
On 94.3 the GOAT’s post-game show, he says his team’s confidence level was high the moment they stepped into the dressing room prior to puck drop.
“It’s kind of hard to find motivation coming off the road trip we had, but when we come off the opening draw, we always try to get big bodies up on the other guys and play tough. We just came to the rink today and we knew we had to get this win for our home fans and it was about having fun out there. You felt the confident mood in the air and it really feeds off of each other.”
Kelowna’s ‘big three’ of Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, and Kole Lind were seemingly invisible to the Cougars’ offense, skating by them in front of more than 2,200 fans.
Cougars Head Coach Richard Matvichuk believes the mindset was all-square from start to finish against a well-known high-octane offence.
“We had a game plan in place where we had to be physical and we had to get pucks deep. Our forecheckers didn’t get beat by their top guys, and we did a great job at keeping that in play and it proved well in the end.”
.@PGCougars’ 4-1 win over @Kelowna_Rockets is the team’s 2nd in 5 games, 1st in 10 days, & 1st multi-goal win since Jan20 at home against @WHLHurricanes | #CityOfPG #Sports @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/OaLdwXidNA
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) February 28, 2018
Though the Rockets notched the first goal of the contest, it would be matched by Vladislav Mikhalchuk’s 14th of the season, posting a score of 1-1 after the opening frame.
The home team followed with all of their remaining three goals in the second, courtesy of Fort St. John’s Austin Crossley, Houston, BC’s Josh Maser for his team-leading 26th tally of the year, and Lakusta on a power-play three minutes later.
.@PGCougars’ Joel Lakusta catapults a PP goal from the blue line to a 4-1 lead on the @Kelowna_Rockets; forces goaltending switch | #CityOfPG #Sports @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/bRkpEmdLIm
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) February 28, 2018
Jared Bethune and Brogan O’Brien also played to multi-point performances, each recording two assists in the victory.
Goaltender Taylor Gauthier stopped 20 of 21 shots for the sixth win of his young WHL career.
Lakusta feels the compete level he saw from his teammates will be a reflection of what the remaining 10 regular season games will look like.
“We’re in a tough spot right now in the standings, but we’re building for next year. We got a young core and all that, so guys just need to come to every game and act like it’s the playoffs. We need to get into playoff mode because are competing for spots on this team, so if guys are willing to compete, then that’ll build more confidence for the rest of the season.”
Prince George now boasts a record of 21-33-4-4 (50 points) for fifth place in the BC Division, while Kelowna, who have already clinched a playoff spot, drops to 38-19-4-2.
The Cougars continue their six-game homestand tonight, 7PM at the CN Centre, finishing the mid-week doubleheader against the Rockets.
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Tonight's Insurance Goal of the Game was scored by @Austin7Crossley! To see more #insurancegoals follow the link: https://t.co/QWz1Zhl2l3#WHL #PGvsKEL pic.twitter.com/lkbp6uLKmY
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) February 28, 2018