The Prince George Cougars are coming home down 2-0 in their second-round series against the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The Cats fell victim to a 5-1 drubbing at the hand of the Thunderbirds in front of 4,650 fans at the Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington
The Cougars powerplay was powerless, going 0/5 including an opportunity with two full minutes of 5-on-3.
This proved to be the turning point in the game, after the Thunderbirds killed off the 5-on-3, Brad Lambert extended the Thunderbirds to 2-0 midway through the second, putting the puck into a wide-open net on a feed from Colton Dach.
Brad Lambert adds to the @SeattleTBirds lead with his first goal of the 2023 #WHLPlayoffs presented by @NutrienLTD. @NHLJets | #FeedingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/W3QsH4WiOX
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 16, 2023
“We had some really good looks, some really good scoring chances, on the 5-on-3 and the subsequent 5-on-4 as well,” said Cougars Associate Coach Josh Dixon on last night’s post-game show on 94.3 The Goat.
“Their goaltender made some big saves coming across, and credit to their penalty killers as well, blocking shots and sacrificing and they really dug in.”
On the other side, the Thunderbirds made the most of their opportunities with the man-advantage, scoring three powerplay goals on four chances.
The accesso ShoWare Center is already electric tonight, but that doesn’t matter to Kyle Crnkovic.
He’s CRNKing it up anyways!@SeattleTBirds | #WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/IgIdzCCCWs
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 16, 2023
The accesso ShoWare Center is already electric tonight, but that doesn’t matter to Kyle Crnkovic.
He’s CRNKing it up anyways!@SeattleTBirds | #WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/IgIdzCCCWs
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 16, 2023
Ondrej Becher scored the lone goal for the Cougars 14 seconds into the third, capitalizing on a giveaway in the Thunderbirds zone, and rifling the puck past Thomas Milic.
The @PGCougars get an optimal start to their third frame thanks to Ondrej Becher!#WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/7batoTrLuZ
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 16, 2023
The full box score can be found here.
The series will shift to the CN Centre in Prince George for Games 3 (Tuesday) and 4 (Wednesday).
The full Cougars playoff schedule can be found here.