Cougars Fall to Vees in Rivalry Weekend Finale
PRINCE GEORGE, BC – The Prince George Cougars suffered their first loss of the young 2026–27 season, falling 5–1 to the Penticton Vees on Saturday at the CN Centre.
Penticton came out strong in the opening period. Gavin Katz opened the scoring with a wrist shot on a five-on-three power play at 3:51. At 14:18, Cougars forward Jett Lajoie was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a check to the head following a video review. Peyton Shore kept Prince George within one, making 17 saves on 18 shots in the period.
The Vees pulled away with three goals in the second. Tyler Deakos scored his first WHL goal just 50 seconds in, and Penticton added a power-play goal at 4:48. Nate Pederson scored in the final seconds of the period to give the Vees a 4–0 lead through 40 minutes.
In the third, Cougars defenceman Corbin Vaughan was assessed a 10-minute misconduct, along with four minutes for charging and roughing. Dmitri Yakutsenak got Prince George on the board with his first goal of the season at 9:17. Pederson added his second of the game at 17:23 to complete the scoring.
POST-GAME AUDIO WITH GM & HEAD COACH MARK LAMB
