Cougars are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention

It was the Victoria Royals that looked good on Don Cherry night at CN Centre.

The Royals scored four unanswered goals in the third period to dump the Prince George Cougars 7-3 before 3,241 fans.

“Our compete level and our will to go out and win battles just wasn’t there tonight”, said Cougars Head Coach Richard Matvichuk on the 94.3 the Goat post-game show.

“With four games in five nights, it’s just like we ran out of gas.”

Victoria ended its four game losing skid and the Prince George three game winning streak.

(The Cats won Friday’s game between the two teams 2-1 in overtime)

Saturday night, the Royals top two forwards, Tyler Soy (1 + 2) and Matthew Phillips (0 + 3) had three points each.

The 5-foot-7 Phillips set a Chilliwack/Victoria franchise record for most points (104) in one season, breaking the old mark set by Mark Santorelli (101) in 2007-08.

Noah Gregor snapped a 3-3 tie just 2:12 into the final period.

The Royals got goals from seven different players, including defenceman Chaz Reddekopp, who scored in his return to the line-up after missing the previous 20 games.

Victoria went 3/4 on the power play while PG was 0/3.

The loss mathematically knocked out the (23-34-4-4) Cougars from playoff contention with seven games remaining.

Brogan O’Brien and Jackson Leppard, with a goal and an assist each, and Aaron Boyd scored for the Cougars.

Prince George surrendered the first goal for the 16th time in the last 17 games.

Griffen Outhouse picked up the victory in relief, stopping all nine shots he faced in 21-minutes of action.

He replaced Dean McNabb late in the second period after the 17-year-old McNabb allowed three goals on just 15-shots.

Tavin Grant took the loss, blocking 29 of 36 shots.

The Cougars are 3-1 on a six-game home-stand that continues Tuesday and Wednesday against Portland.

The Winterhawks won 5-0 in Tri-City.

Meanwhile, the Vancouver Giants clinched a playoff spot after a 5-4 win over Kamloops, and Kelowna lost its fourth game in five nights dropping a 4-2 decision to the Spokane Chiefs.

 

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE:

BC DIVISION STANDINGS:

Kelowna, 66 games = 38-22-4-2 (82 points)
Victoria, 66 games = 36-24-4-2  (78 points)
Vancouver, 64 games = 33-22-6-3 (75 points)
Kamloops, 67 games = 29-33-1-4 (63 points)
Prince George, 65 games = 23-34-4-4 (54 points)

WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD:

Tri-City, 64 games = 32-23-8-1 (73 points)
Seattle, 64 games = 30-24-8-2 (70 points)
Kamloops, 67 games = 29-33-1-4 (63 points)
Prince George, 65 games = 23-34-4-4 (54 points)