That was a “Taylor” made shutout!
Taylor Gauthier made 37 saves, including 17 in the third period, to post his first WHL goose egg in leading the Prince George Cougars to a 2-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Gauthier also came out of his crease to deliver a crunching shoulder hit (which he was given an interference penalty for) on unsuspecting Seattle forward Nolan Vocan along the side boards with just over two minutes left in the game.
“I’m sure I’ll get a shutout again, but I’m not sure I will get another hit like that,” said Gauthier when asked on 94.3 the GOAT‘s post-game show what was more memorable, the shutout or the hit.
“I thought the guys played really well. I was on in every aspect of the game,” added Gauthier who is 5-5-1-1 in 13 games on the season with a 2.90 goals-against-average and a .909 save percentage.
The 17-year-old from Calgary earned his first shutout in his 45th appearance.
The Cougars completed the weekend sweep of the Thunderbirds in front of 3,585 fans (largest home crowd of the season) on Mega Jackpot and “Pink in the Rink” night at the CN Centre.
The Jackpot was just under $60,000.
#WHLThreeStars ⭐⭐⭐
Saturday, November 3, 2018 pic.twitter.com/FUHwpvhole— The WHL (@TheWHL) November 4, 2018
Prince George took Friday’s game 4-1 as Isaiah DiLaura lost his shutout bid with just 38 seconds left in the game.
On Saturday, defenceman Cole Moberg scored the winner at 6:19 of the first and drew an assist on Jackson Leppard’s power play tally in the second.
The 18-year-old Moberg notched two points for the second straight game to give him eight points in his last five contests.
Prince George has five power-play goals in its last three games to up its PP percentage to 14.9.
The Cougars have outscored their opponents 20-10 in the first period (including 5-0 over Seattle over the two games).
The 7-6-2 Thunderbirds have lost three straight to fall to the bottom of the US Division.
Prince George is third in the BC Division with the seventh most points in the Western Conference, one ahead of Seattle, and three in front of both Kamloops and Kelowna.
The 7-7-1-2 Cougars, who are 4-5-0-1 on home ice, play their next two games in Langley against the Vancouver Giants on November 10th and 11th.
WATCH:
? Highlights from the big win.https://t.co/xBaEn6A32R
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) November 4, 2018
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