An explosion of offense in the second period proved to be the difference as the Prince George Cougars picked up a 6-3 win over the Vancouver Giants.
Last night’s (Friday) win was the first road game and road win of the season for the Cats, coming in front of 2,619 fans at the Langley Events Centre.
“I think this game will serve us well as we go ahead in the future here and look back and realize that every time you go on the ice, you got to win the shift you’re playing and I thought we got away from that,” said Associate Coach Jim Playfair on last night’s post-game show on 94.3 the Goat.
“I thought players had the individual mindset where they’re trying to do something on their own with the puck, I thought our five-on-five game collectively in all three zones just wasn’t consistent enough, and I thought in our d-zone coverage, we we’re very hesitant for some reason.”
Playfair said that might come from the team being so young at the start of the season.
“I think there’s probably a little bit of awareness where we have some veteran players, it’s going to become a veteran issue if we get more players back, and we have young players trying to figure out where do they fit in, are they going to be here, are they not going to be here,” he said.
“I can see where individually they’re trying to impress upon us that they’re capable of being good players, but collectively you can’t win and become a good team and a hard team to play against playing that way.”
Carlin Dezainde and Borya Valis led the charge in a four-goal second period. Dezainde scored twice and Valis scored his first of the season on an incredible solo effort.
WELCOME BACK BORYA VALIS@CarlsJrCA https://t.co/65BD5WpgM1 pic.twitter.com/GppiN2lvKd
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) September 28, 2024
 “I think this the type of game when they can sense that we’re trying to find our footing in a game like that,” Playfair said.
“When you look at as a whole, those guys were really good players, but they’re supposed to be really good players, they’re 20-years-old, they’re out there with 16, 17-year-old kids, they’re supposed to lead the way and do things right, and so they’re doing what they’re supposed to do.”
Hunter Laing potted a rebound for his first of the season after returning from the Calgary Flames camp, while Valis and Evan Groening put empty net markers on the scoresheet.
Welcome back Hunter Laing!@NHLFlames . @CarlsJrCA https://t.co/jNJIYgUt98 pic.twitter.com/PluIiW2K1V
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) September 28, 2024
Josh Ravensbergen put on another fantastic goaltending display, making more than 40 saves on the night.
“I think for the Cougars, he was first, second and third star,” Playfair said.
“On the two goals he gave up, the one was just a poor structured setup on the PK, we gave them too much inside ice and they took advantage of it. The second one we didn’t get a full 200-foot clear, it came back, nine-out-of-ten times he’s got his angle on and he’s going to stop that one. I think when you break it down and you look at it closely, that he made probably seven or eight, nine maybe, ten maybe grade-a scoring chances.”
The Giants outshot the Cougars 45-35.
The full box score can be found here.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 2-0-1 on the season, and are currently sitting on top of the WHL’s Western Conference standings.
The full WHL standings can be found here.
The Cougars are back in action tomorrow, taking on the Wenatchee Wild in game two of this five-game road swing.
The full Cougars schedule can be found here.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].