Sometimes all it takes is a swift kick in the teeth to point you back in the right direction.
Less than 48 hours after getting shutout by a rookie goaltender who has yet to secure his drivers license, the Prince George Cougars woke up angry from their cat nap and showed why they are one of the favourites in the WHL’s Western Conference.
Led by eight different goal scores, the Cougars whitewashed the Medicine Hat Tigers 8-1 in front of 2,834 fans at Coop Place on Wednesday night.
Captain Riley Heidt tallied a four point game including a Gordie Howe Hat-Trick (a goal, two assists and a fight) to improve the Cougars record to 6-3-2-1.
After Heidt fought Tigers star forward Oasiz Wesiblatt, the floodgates started to open for the visitors.
Matteo Danis struck first for PG who accepted a transition pass from Aiden Foster who then tucked the puck in between the pads of Medicine Hat netminder Harrison Meneghin.
Aiden Foster will beat you in a fight AND beat you on the outside. @CarlsJrCA https://t.co/RMMqO2Yd4m pic.twitter.com/RmRj7Cc11t
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) October 17, 2024
The Cougars doubled the lead a little over five minutes later courtesy of Jett Lajoie on the power-play as his wrist shot went over the shoulder of Meneghin and into the top-corner.
Medicine Hat outshot PG 19-15 at the end of twenty minutes but Cougars star goaltender Josh Ravensbergen was in vintage form turning aside ten consecutive Tiger shots at one point.
Lajoie’s 6th goal of the season looks like a lot more goals in the future 🥵@CarlsJrCA https://t.co/eI6fnp1oWw pic.twitter.com/VoaFDRp26R
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) October 17, 2024
After Shaeffer Gordon-Carrol trimmed the deficit in half, the Cougars turned on the jets and never looked back.
Borya Valis only needed five seconds to light the lamp on the man-advantage riffling a hard wrist shot past the blocker of Meneghin. The play was started by a clean face-off win by Heidt who found Viliam Kmec at the near point.
Prior to the second intermission, Super Sophomore Terik Parascak ballooned the edge to 4-1. The Washington Capitals first-round pick snuck in behind the Tigers defence, accepting a clean feed from Heidt adding insult to injury in the Gas City.
Heidt feeds Parascak for a late period powerplay goal!@mnwild | @Capitals | @CarlsJrCA https://t.co/d8YJkZ88YM pic.twitter.com/VrB9ixmumX
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) October 17, 2024
Fittingly, the Cougars were all gas and no breaks in the final twenty minutes giving the Medicine Hat netminders a bad case of goal light sunburn.
After a giveaway behind the Tigers net by Meneghin, Parascak neatly slapped a quick shot towards the goal where hulking power-forward Hunter Laing was ready to pounce on the loose puck.
Roughly a minute after that, a Kodak moment ensued as Kayden Lemire notched his first ever WHL goal – backhanding a pass from Evan Groening. In his first game as a Cougar, Van Eger drew the secondary assist on this marker.
The first of many for Kayden Lemire!@CarlsJrCA https://t.co/oIJqD8BuG7 pic.twitter.com/Yy8Pmx96sr
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) October 17, 2024
PG called checkmate on its special teams master class six minutes later as Heidt scored his fifth of the season from Parascak – giving back up goalie Ethan McCallum a rude welcome into the game.
Groening finished the scoring with a high wrist shot from the half wall that went under the cross bar past the glove of McCallum.
At the final buzzer, Medicine Hat outshot PG 34-31 but failed to score on four power-play opportunities while the Cougars went 3-for-7.
The victory was made even more impressive as Bauer Dumanski was out of the lineup due to injury.
Youth was served on the PG blueline as the top six consisted of rookies Carson Carels, Leith Hunter, Arseni Anisimov and Dermot Johnson.
Kmec and Ephram McNutt were the only two returning defenceman from last season who dressed.
Hunter, a 6’6 mountain of a teenager, is back with the Cats after the re-assignment of 18-year-old Drew Peterson who was sent to the Bonnyville Pontiacs of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
The Cougars wrap up the three-game Alberta road swing on Friday when they tackle PG’s Miguel Marques and the Lethbridge Hurricanes (5-1-1).
The Nashville Predators third-rounder has five points in five games since returning from camp.
Elsewhere in the WHL on Wednesday, the Brandon Wheat Kings doubled up the Spokane Chiefs 6-3. PG products Smyth Rebman and Chase Harrington (2 goals) accounted for all of the offense in a losing effort.
Spokane sits atop the Western Conference with a mark of 8-3-0-0, three points up on the Cougars who are second with both teams playing a league-most 11 games.
Eight different goal scorers btw#ForTheNorth . #WHL pic.twitter.com/id6Do10uYk
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) October 17, 2024
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