Three-Goal Third Period Sends Prince George Past Wenatchee Friday, 4-2
Photo Courtesy: Prince George Cougars
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PRINCE GEORGE, British Columbia – Not only were the Wenatchee Wild playing Friday to stay in the Western Hockey League playoff race, but the Prince George Cougars were playing to climb past the Victoria Royals and into the B.C. Division lead by themselves. Evan Friesen wasn’t about to make it easy for them, either.
The Wenatchee Wild captain scored two goals, including one on the power play, but the Cougars used a three-goal third period to push past the Wild 4-2 at CN Centre. The pair of tallies made Friesen the first Wenatchee player this season to eclipse the 30-goal plateau, and put him back in the team scoring lead with three games remaining.
For a while, the game flowed similarly to Wenatchee’s win at Kamloops Wednesday night – it started with Matteo Danis’s one-time snap from low in the left-wing circle just 40 seconds in, off a setup pass from Bauer Dumanski. It continued with a tying goal from the Wild later in the period – Shaun Rios’s shot from the right dot bounded out to the left wing for Friesen, who batted home the second chance with just 1:39 to go in the opening stanza.
In the second period, Rios and Friesen tag-teamed again to give the visitors the lead – Friesen hit Rios with a pass across the slot in transition, and Friesen’s wrist shot went past Joshua Ravensbergen and into the top of the net with 9:24 to play in the second. Wenatchee defended the lead until the 6:31 mark of the third – after the Cougars wrapped the puck behind the Wild net, Borya Valis found Koehn Ziemmer for a tap-in atop the crease to even the game at 2-2.
The Cougars’ power play success made all the difference with 5:13 to play – Riley Heidt won a scramble in front of the Wenatchee net, pushing the puck through under Brendan Gee to put Prince George in front for good. A 2-on-1 with Ziemmer and Heidt saw Ziemmer finish with an empty-net goal from the left wing with 1:15 to play.
Friesen extended his goal-scoring streak to three straight games, while Rios picked up two assists and Reid Andresen registered his team-best 44th helper of the season. Heidt notched two assists to go along with his power play winner, while Ziemmer scored a pair of goals and Viliam Kmec notched two assists.
Ravensbergen stopped 25 Wenatchee shots to earn his 33rd win of the season, tying Spokane’s Dawson Cowan for the WHL lead. Gee took the loss behind a 27-save effort, as each team finished the night 1-for-2 on the power play. Miles Cooper was held off the score sheet for Wenatchee, seeing a four-game point streak come to an end, while Rios extended his own point streak to four games.
The Wild moved to 23-34-7-1 on the season, three points back of the Seattle Thunderbirds for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot with three games to go and two in hand for Seattle. By virtue of Victoria’s loss to Vancouver Friday, Prince George climbed two points ahead of the Royals for the division lead, though Victoria also has two games in hand on the Cougars.
The teams conclude their season series Saturday with a final rematch at CN Centre, with the opening puck drop scheduled for 6 p.m. Live coverage is available on Newsradio 560 KPQ and WHL Live. The Wild will return from their trip on Saturday, March 22, and will close out their regular season slate at home against the Everett Silvertips.
2025-26 season tickets are now on sale – for more information, call 509-888-7825, or visit the team office at Town Toyota Center. Updated news and information on Wild hockey are always available through the team’s website and on the team’s social media platforms on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
Wenatchee 1 1 0 – 2
Prince George 1 0 3 – 4
1st Period-1, Prince George, Danis 14 (Dumanski, Kmec), 0:40. 2, Wenatchee, Friesen 29 (Rios, Andresen), 18:21 (PP). Penalties-Rios Wen (hooking), 11:10; Carels Pg (interference), 17:39; McMillan Wen (checking from behind, major-fighting), 17:58; Kmec Pg (10-minute misconduct, instigator, major-fighting), 17:58.
2nd Period-3, Wenatchee, Friesen 30 (Rios), 10:36. Penalties-Vaughan Pg (cross checking), 12:42.
3rd Period-4, Prince George, Ziemmer 34 (Valis, Heidt), 6:31. 5, Prince George, Heidt 29 (Kmec, Riche), 14:47 (PP). 6, Prince George, Ziemmer 35 (Heidt), 18:45. Penalties-Joudrey Wen (boarding), 3:04; Foster Pg (roughing), 3:04; McCloskey Wen (holding), 13:38.
Shots on Goal-Wenatchee 5-17-5-27. Prince George 7-10-14-31.
Power Play Opportunities-Wenatchee 1 / 2; Prince George 1 / 2.
Goalies-Wenatchee, Gee 11-14-2-0 (31 shots-27 saves). Prince George, Ravensbergen 33-12-3-1 (27 shots-25 saves).
A-4,592
Referees-Jarrod Lucoe (43), Jesse Wood-Schatz (21).
Linesmen-Caden Fanshaw (164), Tyler Garden (149).
