It was not the ending the Cariboo Cougars were hoping for in a must-win game at the 2017 Telus Cup in Prince George Friday night.
The hosts swarmed Mississauga Rebels goaltender Christian Purboo to the tune of 36 shots, but were unable to get a lead when it mattered and were forced to a 2-2 draw, eliminating them from medal contention.
GAME OVER! The @cariboocougars and Mississauga Rebels skate to a 2-2 tie. Statistics: https://t.co/k4oMP3tWNW #TELUSCup pic.twitter.com/nnxLWrgL4I
— TELUS Cup (@HC_TELUSCup) April 29, 2017
Patrick Sebben opened the scoring for the Rebels, firing home a point shot past Cariboo goaltender Marcus Allen; the play was highlighted by a behind-the-back feed from defender Calder Lund.
Mississauga doubled its lead a few minutes later when an individual effort by Evan Benwell beat Allen for the second time in the period.
Despite having the territorial advantage, Cariboo found themselves in a trailing position for the second consecutive time.
After a very defensive second period, the scoring picked up in the third thanks to a pair of goals from Quesnel product Ty Kolle, who returned to the line-up after missing the previous two games as a healthy scratch.
GOOOOOOOAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!!!!! Kolle with his second of the period and the Cougars tie it up. 2-2
— Cariboo Cougars (@cariboocougars) April 29, 2017
The first goal came after a nice drive to the goal, where he lifted it past Purboo and took a hard cross-check to the face after the puck went in.
A short time later, Kolle would come to life once again, roofing a shot underneath the crossbar and tying the game at 2-2.
Cariboo continued to ramp up the rest of the pressure but were unable to pull ahead and claim the needed victory.
With the loss, the Cougars dropped to 1-2-2 in the round-robin and failed to clinch a top-four spot into Saturday’s Semi-Finals.
A huge thank you to all our sponsors, supporters, fans, parents, families and volunteers for your commitment to the Cougars.
— Cariboo Cougars (@cariboocougars) April 29, 2017
MYPGNOW caught up with Sebben after the game and says Purboo has been a rock in the Rebel crease.
“I think he’s been steady and I just think he is a stellar goalie. When he’s needed he comes up big.”
Mississauga finished the preliminary stage at 4-1 and will face the 2-3 Cape Breton West Islanders at 3:30PM on Saturday.
Celebratory @HC_TELUSCup dinner @TheKeg courtesy of @CBWestIslanders alum Andrew MacDonald of the @NHLFlyers. #JudiqueA1 #Telus2017 #Semis pic.twitter.com/k8vLSBmSsy
— CB West Islanders (@CBWestIslanders) April 29, 2017
In the other semi, the Regina Pat-Canadians (2-2-1) will tackle the Saint-Francois Blizzard at 11:30AM.
The Pat-Canadians clinched a playoff spot following a convincing 5-2 win over Cape Breton on Friday morning.
Saint-Francois (3-2) punched their ticket with a 6-3 victory over the Leduc Oil Kings during the afternoon tilt.
Leduc also finished the round robin at 2-3, but finished in 5th spot.
Final four… #TELUSCup pic.twitter.com/ZtLDeWRUjC
— TELUS Cup (@HC_TELUSCup) April 29, 2017
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