A stymied Prince George Cougars’ offense Saturday night allowed their opponents to dictate the pace.
Despite opening the scoring early, PG would surrender a string of unanswered goals, eventually getting sliced by the Saskatoon Blades, 4-1.
Mike MacLean’s squeaker over the goal-line two minutes into the contest was confirmed by video review, making it an early 1-0 advantage for the Cougars.
Tyson Upper and Joel Lakusta were credited with the assists.
However, speaking on 94.3 the GOAT’s post-game show, Cougars Associate Coach Steve O’Rourke believes the confusion on the ice disconnected his team from the rest of the game.
“It’s one of the things we chatted about in getting ramped up, but we have a very young team. We need to respond with more emotion with the confidence that we can compete. We defend well to an extent, but it didn’t work out for us.”
The Blades tied it up less than two minutes later on a power-play, followed by a late marker with 23 seconds left in the opening frame.
The second period went scoreless, and Saskatoon would pot their final two goals in the third.
FINAL: @BladesHockey (4) at @PGCougars (1)
SCORING ? | https://t.co/lb8d1u4M4m#PGvsSAS
— The WHL (@TheWHL) November 25, 2018
Prince George killed five of six penalties, but failed to capitalize on three power-play opportunities in front of 3,125 fans taking in ‘Heroes Night’ at the CN Centre.
Goaltender Taylor Gauthier made 24 saves on 28 shots as the Cougars drop below 500 once again (10-11-1-2).
Thanks to losses from Victoria, Kamloops, and Kelowna, the Cats keep the third place spot in the BC Division.
PG will make a brief visit south of the border on Tuesday and Wednesday against Tri-City and Spokane respectively.
They return home next weekend, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, for a doubleheader against the Victoria Royals.
. @TransCanada #HeroesNight pic.twitter.com/xjWDSIuLta
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) November 25, 2018