PATS 5 – COUGARS 3

The Prince George Cougars are heading home from their Prairie road trip with five of 12 possible points. Saturday night in Regina, the Cougars dropped a 5-3 decision to the Regina Pats. Adam Brooks led the Pats with three helpers while Sam Steele and Cole Sanford each had a goal and an assist. At one point the Cougars led the game 3-1 before the Pats responded with four unanswered goals, two of which came eight seconds apart late in the second period to tie the game. Jesse Gabrielle led the Cougars attack with a goal and an assist.

After a back-and-forth first period the Cougars led 1-0. Jesse Gabrielle snuck a shot past the arm of Tyler Brown  at 17:50 of the period to give the visitors the lead. For Gabrielle, it was his team high 34^th. The shots were 16-9 favoring Prince George in the first.

5:51 into the second period Regina answered with a goal on a five-on-three power play. From the right wing, just behind the goal line Sam Steele centered a pass to the front of the net intended for his teammate in front, but instead the puck bounced off of goaltender Nick McBride’s stick and through his legs for his 19^th of the season.

Chase Witala answered with a power play marker of his own at 9:11 of the middle period. Witala took a Jansen Harkins pass from in close, and deked Brown to the backhand before swiveling around and sneaking a forehand shot across the goal line for his 33^rd of the season and a 2-1 Cougars lead.

Justin Almeida then increased the Cougars lead to 3-1 at 14:48. Seconds earlier Cougars forward Brad Morrison hit the post on a breakaway and once the puck had travelled to the right wing wall, Kolby Johnson freed the puck to Almeida who was all alone in the slot and he did the rest. It was Almeida’s second goal of the season, and fittingly it came on the same day that he celebrated his 17^th birthday.

With less than two minuts remaining in the second the Pats crept back within one when Cole Sanford scored his 25^th from the top of the left circle on a power play. Then just eight seconds later off of the faceoff the Pats caught the Cougars flat footed defensively and Jared McAmmond snuck a low shot past the right pad of McBride for his second goal of the season and just like that it was a 3-3 tie.

The deciding goal of the hockey game came with just over three minutes remaining in period three when Ryker Cole banged home a Sean Richards rebound past a sprawled McBride for his seventh of the season. Cole Sanford then iced the game with an empty netter with a minute and 40 seconds remaining in the game.

Despite the two teams meeting for just the first time all season, there was no shortage of bad blood. The teams combined for 136 in penalty minutes, many of which came in the later stages of the third period. The Cougars finished the night one-for-nine on the power play while the Pats ended up two-for-seven. The final shot tally was even at 36-36.

With the loss the Cougars record now sits at 31-21-2-1. Saturday’s setback marks the first time all season that the Cougars have lost three straight games.

Now the Cougars will make the long trek home, and will return to action at home on Friday night when they welcome the B.C. Division leading Kelowna Rockets for the first of back-to-back games at CN Centre.