Oh. So. Close.
Prince George Cougars goaltender Isaiah DiLaura’s first career WHL shutout was taken away with seconds to go, but regardless, his impressive performance still led the way to a 4-1 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds at the CN Centre.
“I just made the saves I could,” said the 18-year-old on 94.3 the GOAT’s post-game show.
“All the guys came out hard tonight, especially in the first period, blocking shots and doing what they could, and that just carried over. So, it was good to play a full 60-minute game and our guys played hard out there tonight. All in all, just a good win for us.”
A spark was lit Friday night for the Cats, scoring all four goals within the first 20 minutes of play, including Josh Maser just 41 seconds in.
Joel Lakusta followed with a power-play goal, Vladislav Mikhalchuk with the insurance marker, and Tyson Upper with a tally on the man-advantage himself.
Seattle potted their lone goal with 38 seconds left in regulation, ending the possible shutout.
PG Defenceman Cole Moberg had two assists in the contest.
DiLaura only faced 22 shots, but the win also came with a .954 save-percentage (SV%).
“I just had to stay focused after the first period with only seven shots that weren’t really of great quality. Then, in the second period, I had to stop those two breakaways. So, it was just about staying mentally focused and visualizing everything before and in-between periods.”
The Cougars giving @isaiahdilaura1 the team belt tonight! 21-saves for Big D as he got his 2nd win of the year! pic.twitter.com/8Izh3jqxG2
— PG Cougars #PuckCancer (@PGCougars) November 3, 2018
Prince George improves their record to 6-7-1-2, holding on to third place in the BC Division (one point ahead of Kamloops, who lost to Brandon in overtime).
The Cougars will face the Thunderbirds for a second time in as many days tonight with a 7PM puck-drop.
The first Mega 50/50 Jackpot is on the agenda for the game, along with Pink in the Rink, as half of the proceeds will go towards the Canadian Cancer Society.
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