It was a 16-year-old rookie against 19-year-old Likely, BC veteran Griffen Outhouse in a goaltending battle that brought more than 4,000 fans to their feet.
By duel’s end, Taylor Gauthier came out on top, making 32 saves to earn the 2-1 win in overtime for the Prince George Cougars, his eighth of the season, and third straight win when starting between the pipes.
“A week ago, we knew where we were at in the standings, and we as a coaching staff approached Gauthier to tell him to grab the reins and really set up his junior career here,” said Cougars Head Coach Richard Matvichuk on 94.3 the GOAT’s post-game show.
“We talked to him about having confidence and playing with confidence in that if a bad goal goes in, we’re not going to pull him. So he’s played really well in these last three games have been fantastic for him, and it’s a great start for where he think he’s going to be in the next few years.”
Defencemen were the sharp-shooters in the Cats’ 23rd win of the season, including Ryan Schoettler potting a rebound of the middle for the game-winning goal in added time with 56 seconds left.
FINAL: @PGCougars’ Ryan Schoettler (@ryan_schoettler) scores the OT winner with 56 seconds left to beat the @victoriaroyals, 2-1 | #CityOfPG #Sports @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/dnvDXcF4uq
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) March 3, 2018
Joel Lakusta broke Prince George’s first-goal scoring drought of 15 games five minutes into the third period after a scoreless 40 minutes.
Teams nearly combined for 60 minutes of penalty minutes; Cougars special teams went one-for-nine (1/9), while the Royals went one-for-four (1/4).
After winning their third game in a row for a first time since November, Coach Matvichuk emphasized his team is having fun, which at this point in the season is more important than anything.
“You talk about the future here, and when you can put those young guys on the ice, it’s encouraging to see everyone work and relate so well together. From our back end, to our 16-year-old forwards, and our young defencemen, the guys are really starting to enjoy themselves. Give our older guys credit too for walking our rookies through the maturity process too, it’s just fantastic to watch them grow.”
.@PGCougars score the first goal of a hockey game for the 1st time in 15 games! Joel Lakusta makes it 1-0 against the @victoriaroyals | #CityOfPG #Sports @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/9Ctd2IlZnS
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) March 3, 2018
Prince George improves to 23-33-4-4 on the 2017-18 season and 12-12-4-4 against BC Division teams.
Despite the overtime loss, a single point clinched a playoff ticket for the Victoria Royals who sit second in the division standings at 35-24-4-2.
Both teams will meet other again in the back-half of a doubleheader tonight, 7PM at the CN Centre.
.@PGCougars are now 12-12-4-4 against #BCDivision teams in 2017-18; Coach Matvichuk says his team will keep building off its momentum in order to win a 4th straight game Saturday against @victoriaroyals | #CityOfPG #Sports @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/lpPf9H0oHF
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) March 3, 2018
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