BY COLE WALDIE
Prince George Cougars
KAMLOOPS – The Prince George Cougars showcased their dominance with a commanding 9-2 victory against Kamloops on Friday at the Sandman Centre, marking their 48th win of the season. This triumph extends the Cougars’ remarkable streak to 18 consecutive games with points and places them just one win away from clinching first place in the Western Conference.
A total of 13 different Cougars made their mark on the scoresheet, spearheaded by Ondrej Becher’s stellar performance, who notched four points and secured his second hat-trick in the last three games. Ty Young stood tall in the goal, making 34 saves on 36 shots to secure the win for Prince George.
The Cougars wasted no time asserting their dominance, with Carlin Dezainde opening the scoring with his 25th goal of the season at 12:27 in the first period. Prince George then added two quick goals, courtesy of Aiden Foster and Oren Shtrom, followed by Borya Valis extending the lead to 4-0 by the end of the opening period.
Maintaining their momentum, Prince George continued to dominate in the second period, with Valis striking again on the power-play just 31 seconds into the frame. Ondrej Becher added to the lead with his 29th goal of the season, followed by contributions from Jett Lajoie and another from Becher to complete his hat-trick.
Despite Kamloops finding the back of the net once in the third period, courtesy of Emmitt Finnie, it was the Cougars who emerged victorious, securing their 24th road victory of the season, setting yet another team record.
Prince George will conclude their regular season tomorrow night at the CN Centre as they play host to the Kamloops Blazers at 6 p.m.