Chiefs come up short in Round 1 opener, 6-1 to Prince George
Prince George, B.C. – Despite opening the scoring in the first game of the Chiefs’ best-of-seven series against the Prince George Cougars, Spokane ultimately fell short 6-1.
Momentum was in the Chiefs’ favor for the first few minutes of the game, especially once Conner Roulette notched the first goal of Round One just over three minutes into play with help from Berkly Catton and Shea Van Olm as he chipped in a second-chance goal from right in front of the net.
The first goal of the series is ours 🚨
Conner Roulette picks up a second-chance goal at 3:09 to make it 1-0!#GoChiefsGo pic.twitter.com/PFCkcHYsVc
— x – Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) March 30, 2024
Spokane remained in control for much of the first period, even after giving up the game-tying goal at 3:48 (Becher from Funk and Pauls). Prince George didn’t score again until past the 15-minute mark when Terik Parascak capitalized on a man advantage to put the Cougars up one.
From there, it was all Cougars the rest of the night with four more unanswered goals throughout the game, including two more on the power play.
The onslaught started with Keaton Dowhaniuk at 16:38 in the first to send Prince George into the first break up 3-1. Parascak completed his hat trick with the only two goals in the second period – at 14:30 and 19:00, respectively. Borya Valis would put the game away with the Cougars’ sixth and final goal at 3:47 in the third.
Despite the final score, Dawson Cowan stood on his head tonight in net for Spokane, stopping 45 of 51 Prince George shots.
DAWSON COWAN ARE YOU KIDDING#GoChiefsGo pic.twitter.com/OKzOPFBzJR
— x – Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) March 30, 2024
Undisciplined play proved to be the Chiefs’ downfall, as they failed to capitalize on any of their four power play opportunities and went 7-for-10 on the penalty kill, accruing a whopping 26 penalty minutes throughout the night.
Game two will kick off in Prince George tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. before the series comes to Spokane on Tuesday, April 5.