A slow start and an inadequate penalty kill cost the Prince George Cougars in their first playoff game in five years.
The Portland Winterhawks scored the first three goals of the game in the opening nine minutes, two of them on the power-play, and they went to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Cougars.
Portland went 3-for-5 with the man advantage while Prince George was 1-for-3 Friday night at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The #WHLPlayoffs are back in PDX, and the @pdxwinterhawks are pretty pleased. #PORvsPG
STATS 📝 | https://t.co/jJy4cBJqvI pic.twitter.com/kt8DQsrZzP
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 23, 2022
Ex-Cougar goalie Taylor Gauthier was named the first star with 32 saves as Portland outshot P.G. 39-34 before 3,813 fans.
First playoff start, first playoff win ✅#PORvsPG | #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/pdOxsK4HzG
— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) April 23, 2022
Ty Young started for Prince George in net but was replaced by Tyler Brennan after surrendering three goals on 13 shots.
Brennan stopped 23 of 24 in 50-minutes of work.
Connor Bowie, on a second period power-play, and Riley Heidt, in the third, tallied for the Cats.
“There was certainly a lot of good takeaways. I liked our play five-on-five, our compete level, and our structure,” said Associate Coach Josh Dixon. “First and foremost, the penalties were the difference. The penalties we took tonight (Friday) are ones we need to avoid. We talked about how dangerous Portland was on the power play heading into the series. We can’t be giving them that many opportunities.”
Aiden Litke, James Stefan, and Cross Hanas scored in just under a seven-minute span to put Portland up 3-0 after the first period.
Gabe Klassen scored in the second for Portland and Jack O’Brien added an empty net goal.
The Winterhawks lead the best-of-7 Western Conference quarterfinal 1-0 with Game 2 tonight at 6:oo in Portland.
The series will shift to CN Centre for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday.
GAME SUMMARY
Scoring
Winterhawks: Aiden Litke, James Stefan, Cross Hanas, Gabe Klassen, Jack O’Brien
Cougars: Connor Bowie, Riley Heidt
Goaltending
Winterhawks: Taylor Gauthier (W), 60:00 (2 GA, 32 SVS)
Cougars: Ty Young (L), 8:43, (3 GA, 10 SVS), Tyler Brennan 50:29, (1 GA, 23 SVS)
Shots
Winterhawks: 39
Cougars: 34
Power-Play
Winterhawks: 3/5
Cougars: 1/3
Three Stars: (all from Portland) 1) Taylor Gauthier 2) Cross Hanas 3) Luca Cagnoni
Some big scores, some little scores, and some WHOA-vertime to cap it all off. #WHLPlayoffs #WHLScores pic.twitter.com/R0dYwDIlz0
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 23, 2022
PG Cougars Playoff Schedule vs. Portland
Friday, April 22nd at Portland (Game 1)- PORTLAND 5 PG 2
Saturday, April 23rd at Portland (Game 2)- 6:00 pm
Tuesday, April 26th vs. Portland (Game 3)- 7:00 pm
Wednesday, April 27th vs. Portland (Game 4)- 7:00 pm
Saturday, April 30th at Portland (Game 5)- 5:00 pm If Necessary
Monday, May 2nd vs. Portland (Game 6)- 7:00 pm If Necessary
Wednesday, May 4th at Portland (Game 7)- 7:00 pm If Necessary
CAT SCAN: @Hartley_Miller chats with @PGCougars head coach and general manager Mark Lamb on this week’s episode
| https://t.co/xPHvw5qatB #cityofpg #PrinceGeorge #northernbc #sports #northernuprising pic.twitter.com/wMokbpbMLv— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) April 20, 2022
With files from Fraser Rodgers