If this weekend was a preview of a playoff matchup, Prince George and Portland hockey fans are in for a treat come springtime.
The Prince George Cougars came up short in last night’s (Saturday) game, falling 2-1 to the Portland Winterhawks.
It was as close to a playoff atmosphere as you can get in January, as 6,009 fans at the CN Centre cheered on their Cougars during Indigenous Night.
“It was a real great weekend of hockey, they had the better jump tonight, probably the better chances, the first two periods,” said Cougars Head Coach and GM Mark Lamb on last night’s post-game show on 94.3 the Goat.
“We found our game in the third period but it was a little too late.”
Last night’s matchup was a goaltending duel between Cougars netminder Ty Young and Winterhawks netminder Nick Avakyan.
Both goalies were stellar, as Young stopped 26 shots while Avakyan stopped 34.
🎥 SAVE OF THE NIGHT 🎥
Ty Young puts his name in the hat for Save of the Year!@RealCdnSS | @PGCougars | #Canucks | #SaveoftheNight pic.twitter.com/AFceoKZ6qA
— The WHL (@TheWHL) January 21, 2024
The game started with Cougars forward Aiden Foster up to his usual behavior, dropping the gloves with Tyson Yaremko.
Foster leads the WHL in penalty minutes with 94.
Nate Danielson opened the scoring for the Winterhawks late in the first period, sliding a rebound past Young.
Starts it. Finishes it.
Nate Danielson’s got his second as a Hawk! pic.twitter.com/ZcIMgrUK2t
— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) January 21, 2024
Ondrej Becher tied it in the second collecting a rebound and firing the puck past Avakyan.
Make that 18 this season for Becher! https://t.co/8gyOex2z3Z pic.twitter.com/lAMLu1zpGz
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) January 21, 2024
Diego Buttazzoni scored the eventual winner on the powerplay, firing the puck into a yawning cage.
#2️⃣0️⃣ on the year for Diego Buttazzoni and the Hawks have a 2-1 lead! pic.twitter.com/qtujnLfahj
— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) January 21, 2024
The game ended with some fireworks in the dying seconds, as shoves and punches were thrown by both teams.
This resulted in Zac Funk and Josh Davies each receiving ten-minute misconducts with less than four seconds on the clock.
The full box score can be found here.
The Cougars (30-13-0-1) remain on top of the WHL’s Western Conference standings.
The full WHL standings can be found here.
The Cougars will be back in action on Friday, starting a five-game roadtrip with a matchup against the Spokane Chiefs.
The full Cougars schedule can be found here.