Taylor Gauthier is at the top of his game and the Prince George Cougars are benefitting.
Gauthier earned his second shutout of the season in the Cougars 1-0 victory over the Tri-City Americans, before 2,566 fans in Kennewick, Washington.
#WHLThreeStars ⭐⭐⭐
Tuesday, January 8, 2019 pic.twitter.com/JjN4gYEa9X— The WHL (@TheWHL) January 9, 2019
The Cougars have won back-to-back games for the first time since November 14th.
Tri-City outshot Prince George, 36-29.
The 17-year-old Gauthier has allowed just four goals in his last four games and six in his last five.
He has improved his save percentage to .904 and his GAA to 3.08.
Ethan Browne scored the only goal (his first since November 23rd) and it came at 16:05 of the second period with assists to Joel Lakusta and Austin Crossley.
#WHL PG/TC: In the “that’s crazy” department, @PGCougars win their second 1-0 game of the season. Both goaltenders can claim a shutout (Isaiah DiLaura, 11/11/18 at VAN, 26; Taylor Gauthier, 1/8/19 at TC, 36) and Ethan Browne had the game winning goal in both contests.
— Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) January 9, 2019
Prince George went 0/2 on the power play while Tri-City was 0/3.
The Cats are 3-2 in its last five but 3-7 on a stretch of 11 consecutive road games that will end tonight in Spokane against the (22-13-2-2) Chiefs.
The 14-21-1-2 Cougars are two points behind the (15-19-2-1) Kamloops Blazers for the second and final wild-card spot with Kamloops holding one game in hand.
Good morning, Cougars fans. Missed last night's shutout win? Check out the highlights!
? https://t.co/hUwryqSnSA pic.twitter.com/d8MHT25OqV
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) January 9, 2019
Prince George is also three points ahead of the last place (12-21-4) Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Conference.
Seattle lost 4-3 Tuesday in Saskatoon.
The Cougars host the (17-18-3-1) Kelowna Rockets Friday and Saturday to begin a six-game homestand.
The WHL trade deadline is Thursday afternoon at 2:00 (PT).
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The Prince George Cougars have signed 2003-born forward Blake Eastman to a WHL Standard Player Agreement.
The Cougars selected Eastman in the second-round, 44th overall, in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft.
Proud to have signed with the @PGCougars I’m excited to be a part of this team! Thank you to all who have helped me get to where I am!! https://t.co/7mgNnLrXFa
— Blake Eastman (@eastmanblake) January 9, 2019