Prince George Cougars goaltender Tyler Brennan won’t soon forget his Easter Sunday. The 17-year-old recorded his first career Western Hockey League (WHL) shutout in the Cougars’ 1-0 shootout loss to the Vancouver Giants at the Sandman Centre.
Brennan, who isn’t NHL draft eligible until 2022, made 43 saves and was named the game’s first star. He stopped 12 shots in the first period, 17 in the second, and 14 more in the third period. Brennan stopped two of three shooters in the shootout, as the Giants’ Tristen Nielsen scored the game-winner in round three.
Vancouver’s Trent Miner earned his second shutout in as many starts this season, as he stopped all 14 shots he faced through regulation and overtime. He got some help in the shootout, as the Cougars’ Ethan Browne hit the post on his attempt.
Despite Brennan’s heroics, the Cougars (1-2-0-1) dropped their second consecutive game and have scored just one goal in their last two outings. The shootout win improved the Giants’ record to 3-1-0-0; they’ve won three-straight.
Both teams struggled on the power-play, as the Cougars went 0-5 with the man-advantage and the Giants were 0-6. Prince George had a chance to win the game in overtime on a four-on-three power-play but couldn’t beat Miner before time had expired.
Koehn Ziemmer (miss), Ethan Browne (miss), and Riley Heidt (miss) were the Cougars’ three shooters in the shootout. Eric Florchuk (miss), Justin Sourdif (miss), and Tristen Nielsen (goal) shot for Vancouver.
GAME SUMMARY
Scoring
Cougars- No scoring
Giants- No scoring
Goaltending
Cougars- Tyler Brennan, 65:00, 43 saves on 43 shots
Giants- Trent Miner, 65:00, 14 saves on 14 shots
Power-Play
Cougars- 0/5
Giants- 0/6
Three Stars: 1) Tyler Brennan (PG) 2) Tristen Nielsen (VAN) 3) Trent Miner (VAN)
Game Notes: Goaltender Tyler Brennan has a 1.77 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage in four career games against the Giants. Tonight marked the second time in franchise history the Cougars have appeared in a 1-0 shootout game. The Cougars played in a 1-0 shootout game on Feb 18, 2006 losing to the Swift Current Broncos. The shootout was implemented in the WHL in 2005-06.
Next Game: Tuesday, April 6 against the Victoria Royals (0-3-1-0) at 7 p.m.