The second-period woes continued for the Prince George Cougars in a 5-4 loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings.
The Wheat Kings erased a 3-1 deficit by scoring three unanswered goals in the second before 2,236 fans Tuesday night at the CN Centre.
The Cougars have been outscored 17-5 in the middle period this season.
Brandon’s Stelio Mattheos had a dominating performance to help the (7-3-3-2) Wheat Kings end a five-game losing streak.
He scored the winner midway through the third, and added three assists, to go along with a whopping 11 shots on net.
It was the fourth career four-point game in the WHL for the 19-year-old Mattheos, a third-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2017.
Vladislav Mikhalchuk notched a goal and two assists for the Cougars, who saw their losing streak reach four games.
The 19-year-old Mikhalchuk leads Prince George in assists (9) and points (11).
It was the second time in a week the Cats let a 3-1 lead evaporate on home ice.
(Tri-City won in a shootout 4-3, overcoming a 3-1 third-period deficit on October 24th)
Cole Moberg, Josh Maser and, rookie Matej Toman rounded out the scoring for Prince George, who were outshot 44-30.
Taylor Gauthier stopped 23 of 27 shots through two periods.
He was injured late in the second after a collision with teammate Austin Crossley, but was healthy enough to back-up Isaiah DiLaura in the third.
The Cougars fell to 2-5-0-1 on home ice and 5-7-1-2 overall.
Prince George is tied with the (6-6-0-1) Kamloops Blazers for third in the BC Division, one point ahead of the (6-10) Kelowna Rockets.
The Cougars host the (7-4-2) Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday and Saturday.
. @vlad_mikh had three points but the Cougars couldn’t capitalize on a great start. | #NorthernUprising
? https://t.co/azg0fusuLg pic.twitter.com/YaUdIsuraJ
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) October 31, 2018
SCORING:
Cougars – Vladislav Mikhalchuk (1G, 2A), Josh Maser (1G, 1A), Cole Moberg (1G, 1A), Matéj Toman (1G), Ryan Schoettler (1A), Tyson Upper (1A)
Wheat Kings – Stelio Mattheos (1G, 3A), Linden McCorrister (1G, 2A), Connor Gutenberg (1G, 1A), Luka Burzan (1G), Braden Schneider (1G), Chase Hartje (1A), Ben McCartney (1A), Ty Thorpe (1A), Zach Wytinck (1A)
GOALTENDING:
Cougars – Taylor Gauthier 39:57 23/27, Isaiah DiLaura (Loss) 19:01 16/17
Wheat Kings – Ethan Kruger (Win) 26/30
POWER-PLAY:
Cougars – 2/3
Wheat Kings – 1/6
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
