The Prince George Cougars had their five-game win streak come to an end on Saturday, as they fell 3-1 to the Vancouver Giants at the Langley Events Centre.
Prince George heads in the Christmas break sitting fourth in the B.C. Division with a 13-15-0-0 record through 28 games.
Jaren Brinson scored the Cougars’ lone goal, his first in the WHL, in the first period. Goaltender Ty Young was very sound in defeat, as he turned aside 27 of 30 shots.
Despite the setback, Cougars’ Associate Coach Josh Dixon said they had their looks and chances, but the bounces didn’t go their way: “We had 35 shots, we had power play opportunities, we were around the net and had some great scoring chances, but we just couldn’t capitalize.”
Brinson opened the scoring seven and a half minutes into the first period. The Cougars’ defenceman timed the puck bouncing off the side boards and hammered the puck over the goalie’s glove for his first WHL goal.
Vancouver responded with a tying goal late in the opening frame, as Zach Ostapchuk punched in his own rebound at 18:06.
The Giants pulled ahead in the middle frame with a pair of goals to go up 3-1 through 40 minutes. Evan Toth put Vancouver ahead at 8:32 when he crashed the crease and flipped the rebound over Young’s pad. Ty Thorpe added an insurance marker at 11:19. The puck bounced off the glass and back into the slot and Thorpe fired the puck over Young’s glove.
The Cougars, despite surrendering two goals in the second, outshot the Giants 15-8 in the middle stanza. They fired 27 shots at the Giants’ net over the final 40-minutes but couldn’t manufacture another goal.
Game Notes: The Cougars are now 3-4-0-0 against the Giants this season. Their road record slips to 5-9-0-0. Prince George is now 6-3-0-0 in the month of December.
Next Game: Tuesday, Dec. 28 vs. Everett Silvertips.