Cougars Lose 7-1 in Kelowna

The Prince George Cougars have hit the one-eighth pole of the season and one thing is becoming clear; the first period is by far their best. After being tied through 20 minutes in Kelowna Saturday, the Rockets would get two in the second and four in the third, handing the Cougars a 7-1 loss at Prospera Place in Kelowna.
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rFor the second consecutive road game, the Cougars would open the scoring thanks to a penalty shot goal from forward Brock Hirsche. Hirsche drew the penalty shot on Adam Brown at the 6:55 mark of the first when he drove to the net and was brought down from behind. The Rockets netminder got a piece of Hirsche’s penalty shot, but not enough to stop Hirsche from getting his second of the season. Brandon McMillan tied the game for the Rockets with a bullet one-timer to the top corner past James Priestner, but for the fourth straight game, the Cougars were no worse than tied heading to the first intermission.
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rThe Rockets would grab the lead 11:25 into the second period with McMillan getting his second goal on a 2-on-1, followed by a marker from Spencer Main with a minute to go. That goal was tougher to swallow for the Cougars considering they were unable to convert a 1:15, 5-on-3 power play just prior to the 3-1 goal for the Rockets.
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rIn the third period, the Rockets would blow it open with three goals in a :52 span from Lucas Bloodoff, Cody Chikie and Shane McColgan, the last goal of the trio ending the night for Priestner. Collin Bowman would ice the game with a slap shot past Michael Salmon with less than five minutes to play, making the final 7-1 Rockets, Kelowna’s sixth win in a row. The loss gives the Cougars five consecutive losses and a record of 2-7-0-0.
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rSo far this season, the Cougars have been out-scored 14-12 in the first period, a much better ratio than what has happened in the second and third periods in 2009-10. The Cats have been out-scored 15-3 in the second and 18-4 in the third period this season, respectively. The Cougars power play went 0-for-7 on the night, but got the penalty shot goal from Hirsche, while the Rockets went 2-for-4 and out-shot Prince George 39-16.
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rThe Cougars will be home this week in preparation for another road trip, which will see them face the Vancouver Giants on Friday and the Seattle Thunderbirds Saturday. The Cougars next home game is October 23 against the Chilliwack Bruins, starting at 7:00. For tickets, call Ticketmaster at 250-564-5585.