RECAP: Hood Makes 45 Saves in Loss to Cougars

Category: ArticleJanuary 18, 2026

LANGLEY, B.C. – Vancouver Giants goaltender Burke Hood made 45 saves on Sunday in a 5-1 loss to the Prince George Cougars at Langley Events Centre.

The Giants kept it even with the Cougars until late in the first period, when draft-eligible defenceman Carson Carels made it 1-0. Prince George poured it on in the second period, scoring three times to take a 4-0 lead into the final frame. Vancouver got a late goal from Brett Olson, but a Cougars empty net goal a minute after sealed the deal for the visitors.

Vancouver now has a record of 18-25-1-2 (39 points) and sit five points back of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Prince George improves to 26-16-2-0 (54 points), currently sitting in third in the West.

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Hood had an incredibly busy weekend. The New York Islanders draft pick started on Friday, came in relief on Saturday to play over 55 minutes and then started again on Sunday. He finished the weekend with 120 saves on 129 shots, which is a .930 save percentage.

Carson Carels, Jett Lajoie, Riley Ashe, Arsenii Anisimov, and Dmitri Yakutsenak were the goal scorers for Prince George.

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GAME SUMMARY

Carels opened the scoring for Prince George with 1:12 remaining in the first period off a wraparound goal, recording his 11th goal of the season. It was one of 20 shots on the Giants net by Prince George in the opening frame.

Just over eight minutes into the second, Lajoie scored his 19th goal on a breakaway to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead.

Ashe scored his sixth of the campaign on the backhand after receiving a cross-ice pass from Kozicky to give Prince George a 3-0 advantage.

Anisimov scored on a floating wrist shot from the blue line near the end of the second period to make it a commanding 4-0 lead after 40 minutes.

Brett Olson scored his eighth goal of the season late in the third period, with the assist from Kaden Hayes, who registered his first WHL point on the play.

Brett Olson's 8th goal of the season, with the assist from Kaden Hayes! pic.twitter.com/xvi6cE6UKz

— Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) January 19, 2026

An empty net goal not long after from Yakutsenak gave Prince George the 5-1 win.

Vancouver went a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, holding the Cougars first-ranked power play off the scoresheet.

STATISTICS

SOG: VAN —10/11/11 = 32 | PG – 20/18/12 = 50
PP: VAN—0/3 | PG — 0/3
Face-Offs: VAN — 32 | PG — 40

3 STARS

1st: PG – Carson Carels – 1G, 3 SOG, +1
2nd: PG – Matt Lajoie – 1G, 1A, 4 SOG, +2
3rd: VAN – Burke Hood – 45 Saves on 49 Shots

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Vancouver: LOSS – Burke Hood (45 saves / 49 shots)
Prince George: WIN – Joshua Ravensbergen (31 saves / 32 shots)

THEY SAID IT

“For some season it happens in hockey where one guy goes down and all of a sudden five or six guys go down. We’re not going to sit here and make any excuses…but it’s tough to overcome those things. Those are facts. I look at the weekend as a whole, you have the second, first and third-place team in the conference in a 3-in-3 when you’re already banged up – and I understand it’s a results driven business – but I have to judge our group by their care level, by their competitiveness, by their effort, their play without the puck. Over the past six games, we haven’t given up more than four goals in one game…right now we just have to work on finding ways to generate offence as best we can –that’s power play included – because we’re going to have to really work to create it right now.” – Head Coach Parker Burgess

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UPCOMING

The Giants head to Prince George for a pair of games next weekend.

Date	Opponent	Location	Time
Friday, January 23	Prince George	CN Centre	7:00 PM
Saturday, January 24	Prince George	CN Centre	6:00 PM

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