The Prince George Cougars partly played the role of spoiler Friday night in Kamloops.
Now they hope to finish the job when they host the Blazers tonight to conclude their season.
In a wacky back and forth game, the Cougars prevailed 5-4 in overtime.
Watch the highlights right here.
The team’s leading scorer, Vladislav Mikhalchuk tallied his second goal of the game and 24th of the season at 3:46 of OT.
The Blazers picked up a valuable point after Connor Zary put the puck past Taylor Gauthier with just 56 seconds left in regulation time, and Kamloops going with six attackers.
Mikhalchuk finished with four points while his linemate and captain Josh Curtis added a goal and two assists before 4,629 fans at Sandman Centre.
#WHLThreeStars ⭐⭐⭐
Friday, March 15, 2019 pic.twitter.com/q4rEHKHZuw— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 16, 2019
The Blazers led 2-1 after two but the Cats went ahead 4-2 by the midway mark of the third.
Rhett Rhinehart and Mike MacLean had the other goals for P.G., each with their 5th of the season.
Curtis, Maclean and Joel Lakusta (the 20-year-olds on the team) will end their WHL careers this evening on home ice.
Kamloops is tied with the Kelowna Rockets for the final playoff spot in the B.C. Division entering their final game of the regular season.
In case of the scenario of a Kamloops-Kelowna tie in points at end of reg season, there would be a one-game play-in game Tuesday night in Kamloops.
— Jon Keen (@JonKeenNLSports) March 15, 2019
The Blazers visit the Cougars tonight while the Rockets host the Vancouver Giants.
The Giants clinched first overall in the Western Conference after Friday’s 2-1 win over Kelowna in Langley, thanks to a late power play goal by Dylan Plouffe with 3:10 remaining.
The standings are right here.
Vancouver, with 100 points, will play the Seattle Thunderbirds (the second wild-card team) in the opening round of the playoffs.
Other Western Conference first-round pairings have Everett vs. Tri-City, Portland against Spokane and Victoria vs. either Kelowna or Kamloops.
This evening will be Fan Appreciation Night at CN Centre with over 4,500 tickets sold.
The 19-40-5-3 Cougars have won two straight and are 3-10-1-1 since general manager Mark Lamb took over as interim head coach.
Prince George will finish 19th out of 22 teams in the overall WHL standings, ahead of Regina, Kootenay and Swift Current.
LISTEN: @Hartley_Miller‘s Cat Scan – March 14th, 2019.. featuring former @PGCougars @NHLFlames @NYRangers and @NHLFlyers forward Blair Betts | #cityofpg #sports https://t.co/Kph4pxetfL pic.twitter.com/fOrUQ7yRis
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 14, 2019
(All of the PG Cougars Cat Scan Podcasts can be found right here)
BDN 4 REG 5
MJ 6 SC 1
PA 2 SAS 3
LET 4 RD 3
MH 5 KTN 2
PG 5 KAM 4 (OT)
KEL 1 VAN 2
EVT 2 VIC 3 (SO)
SPO 5 TC 3— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 16, 2019
The Brandon Wheat Kings were eliminated from playoff contention following that 5-4 loss in Regina.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
