BY COLE WALDIE
Prince George Cougars
The best-of-seven Western Conference Quarterfinal is all square as the Prince George Cougars fell 5-2 to the Portland Winterhawks on Saturday night at the CN Centre. With the series tied 1-1, the action now shifts to Portland for Game 3 on Tuesday.
The Winterhawks opened the scoring early, capitalizing on a power play at 4:36 when Diego Buttazzoni ripped a shot past Josh Ravensbergen to make it 1-0. The Cougars responded at 8:55, as Evan Groening pounced on a loose puck in tight to even the score. However, Portland regained the lead late in the period when rookie Jordan Duguay found the glove side at 17:12, sending the visitors into the intermission up 2-1.
In the second period, the Winterhawks extended their lead on another power play, with captain Kyle Chyzowski expertly tipping a shot at 8:32 to make it 3-1. The Cougars answered back at 13:08, as Vegas Golden Knights prospect Viliam Kmec blasted a one-timer from the blue line, cutting the deficit to 3-2 heading into the third.
Prince George pressed for the equalizer, but Portland tightened up defensively and delivered the dagger at 17:02, when Diego Buttazzoni netted his second of the night with a highlight-reel goal. Tyson Jugnauth sealed the win with an empty-netter at 18:24.
“The difference was special teams, they get a couple and we didn’t get any on our power play,” said head coach Mark Lamb. “Our power play’s got to score us goals. There was a lot of good in our game but it’s just not good enough when you’re in playoffs. Our top guys have to be our top guys every night, just like theirs were. It wasn’t a game where we were really on top of our game in a lot of areas and that has a lot to do with a good team over there too. I thought their third period was smart, they played with that lead and didn’t give us a lot and didn’t give us any outnumbered rushes. They know how to play hockey.”
With the series tied, it now moves to Portland for Games 3, 4, and 5.