BY COLE WALDIE
Prince George Cougars
The Prince George Cougars concluded their four-game homestand with a 5-2 win over the Kamloops Blazers Friday night at the CN Centre.
Brock Souch scored twice in the victory, while Terik Parascak, Jett Lajoie, and Corbin Vaughan also found the back of the net. Josh Ravensbergen earned his 22nd win of the season, making 20 saves on 22 shots.
“That was a real solid effort from everybody,” said General Manager and Head Coach Mark Lamb. “I thought Parascak had one of the best games he’s had. He was on fire tonight. That’s a real good hockey team over there, and we’re playing some good teams down the stretch, so we have to take it day by day and one game at a time.”
In the opening period, the Cougars came out flying, rolling four lines and six defencemen throughout the frame. The Cats opened the scoring on the power play at 13:09 when Brock Souch rifled a shot top corner from the slot off a tremendous feed from Terik Parascak at the goal line to make it 1-0.
Despite being limited to five shots in the period, the Blazers generated a few quality chances. Their best opportunity came when Isa Guram wired a shot off the crossbar.
Prince George extended its lead early in the second period. At 1:11, Terik Parascak made a slick move around a Blazers defender before wiring a shot past Logan Edmonstone to make it 2-0. Kamloops responded quickly at 2:40, as a strong setup by Cooper Moore and Harrison Brunicke led to Vit Zahejsky finishing the play to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Cougars answered at 4:51 when Souch tapped home a backdoor pass from Arsenii Anisimov to restore the two-goal lead at 3-1. Corbin Vaughan then made it 4-1 after his initial wrist shot was stopped by Edmonstone, but he located the loose puck in the blue paint and jammed it home.
Kamloops trimmed the lead to 4-2 when Josh Evaschesen slipped a shot through the legs of Ravensbergen. The Blazers nearly struck again in the final minute of the period, but Zahejsky fired a puck through the crease that went untouched. The Cougars carried a 4-2 lead into the second intermission.
In the final frame, Jett Lajoie added insurance at 10:22, tapping home a goal to extend the lead to 5-2 and ultimately secure the victory. The contest ended with plenty of rough stuff, resulting in six players receiving 10-minute misconduct penalties.
“That was a huge win for us,” said forward Terik Parascak, who was named the game’s first star. “We know how tight the standings are, and those were a big two points for our group. I’m pretty proud of how we played. I had the mindset that I needed to be the hardest-working player on the ice every shift — keep my feet moving, be hard on pucks, and just generate.”
The two teams meet again tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops. Fans can catch the action for free on Victory+ or listen live on 94.3 The Goat.
