BY COLE WALDIE
Prince George Cougars
The Prince George Cougars clawed their way back into the win column with a 3-1 victory over the Victoria Royals on Tuesday afternoon at CN Centre. Goaltender Josh Ravensbergen was outstanding once again, turning aside 31 shots in the win. Rookie forward Cole Hajt scored his first WHL goal, while Jack Finnegan notched his first WHL point.
In the opening period, the Royals came out hot, firing the first five shots of the game, but Josh Ravensbergen stood tall to keep it scoreless. The Cougars settled in and broke the deadlock courtesy of rookie forward Cole Hajt, who wired a wrist shot over the shoulder of Ethan Eskit to make it 1-0. The goal marked Hajt’s first in the WHL, with Jack Finnegan picking up his first WHL point on the assist. Just over a minute later, Jett Lajoie dropped the gloves with Myoka Kosarev, sending the 4,000-plus fans at CN Centre to their feet. Prince George carried the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
In the second period, both teams generated pressure, but it was Victoria who found the equalizer. Leading scorer and 20-year-old Roan Woodward tied the game at 7:14, firing a shot from the right circle past a sliding Ravensbergen. The Cougars, however, restored their lead late in the frame. Ravensbergen started the play by moving the puck to Corbin Vaughan, who sprung Kayden Lemire on a breakaway. Lemire made no mistake, scoring with 39 seconds remaining to make it 2-1 Prince George. The Cougars took that lead into the third period.
In the third period, the Royals continued to push but the Cougars got more tremendous goaltending from Ravensbergen and the defence did a great job to limit the Royals chances. The Cougars would put the game on ice as Terik Parascak netted an empty netter at 18:34 to give the Cougars a 3-1 victory.
The two teams collide once again tomorrow night at 7:00 pm.