Cougars Dominant Victory Shifts Series Back To Prince George
PORTLAND, OR – The Prince George Cougars are dragging the series back to the BC Northern Capital. The Cats staved off elimination with a dominant 7-2 victory, Friday at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
For the first time in the series, the Cougars opened the scoring—and it came fittingly from their captain. Riley Heidt, returning to the lineup, buried a backhander from the slot at 9:01 to give PG the early lead. Matteo Danis doubled the advantage at 14:59, firing a wrist shot that deflected off a Portland stick and past netminder Ondrej Stebetak to make it 2-0. The Winterhawks responded quickly, with Ryder Thompson scoring at 16:04, but the Cougars held a 2-1 edge through 20 minutes.
The second period saw chances at both ends, but the lone goal came at 14:43, when Koehn Ziemmer finished off a strong net-front effort from Carson Carels to restore the two-goal lead. Josh Ravensbergen stood tall between the pipes, stopping all eight shots he faced in the frame to preserve the 3-1 advantage.
Prince George came out flying in the third, and it took just 12 seconds to strike. Danis pounced on a rebound for his second of the night and fifth of the playoffs to make it 4-1. Alex Weiermair responded for Portland with a power-play goal at 6:24, but the Cougars slammed the door with a three-goal outburst.
Terik Parascak capitalized on a defensive miscue and converted on a breakaway at 7:59, followed quickly by Borya Valis, who scored off another turnover just 40 seconds later. Ziemmer capped the offensive outburst with his second of the game at 17:42, sealing the 7-2 win and forcing the series back to Prince George.
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Stats and Standouts:
- Matteo Danis’ two goals now has him at five and is tied for the series lead in goal scoring
- Josh Ravensbergen was outstanding for the Cougars, stopping 38 of 40 shots
- Borya Valis, Aiden Foster, Terik Parascak, and Koehn Ziemmer all picked up multi-point nights.
They Said It…
Associate Coach Jim Playfair on tonight’s win…
What’s Next?
Game 6 goes Sunday at 6:00 pm at the CN Centre. Tickets are on sale NOW HERE.
