The Prince George Cougars are back in the win column following Wednesday’s 4-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs at home. Troy Bourke and Chase Witala each recorded two points, while Brett Zarowny turned aside 33 of the 35 shots he faced for his fifth win of the season.

Spokane opened the scoring at 8:27 when Mike Aviani out-waited Brett Zarowny with a nice backhand deke. Aviani’s seventh of the season had Spokane ahead.

Credit the Cougars for continuing to battle. They finished their checks, blocked shots, and were rewarded in the late stages of the period when Brett Roulston forced a turnover and raced in alone on Eric Williams. Roulston fired a shot over the blocker of Williams for his second of the season, and the Cougars were tied at one.

The Cougars held a 13-12 edge in the shots department after one.

Early in the second, the Cougars grabbed the lead when Alex Forsberg pounced on a Troy Bourke rebound, and fired one past Eric Williams for his fourth of the season. Forsberg’s goal came just 26 seconds into the second period, with Troy Bourke and Chase Witala drawing the assists.

The Cougars kept at it, and were rewarded again at 12:56 when Marc McNulty snuck one past Eric Williams from the left circle for his second of the season. Troy Bourke and Chase Witala both assisted on the McNulty marker.

Prince George outshot Spokane 16-9 in the second, and took a 3-1 lead into the final 20 minutes.

The third period saw Spokane put a lot more pucks on goal, but Brett Zarowny was calm and confident, and made the necessary saves to keep his team ahead by two. In the end Zarowny would finish with 33 saves on 35 shots faced.

Late in the third, with exactly three minutes remaining, Spokane pulled Eric Williams to use an extra-attacker. It back-fired though as 15 seconds later Caleb Belter potted his fourth into the empty net, and the Cougars had the three goal cushion.

A late power play goal from Brenden Kichton wasn’t enough as the Chiefs dropped a 4-2 score.

Shots on goal were dead even at 35. The Cougars were zero-for-four on the power play while Spokane went one-for-two.

A solid 60-minute effort from the entire Prince George Cougars roster who earned victory number six on the season. The Cougars will now take their 6-7-1-0 record into Saturday’s matchup with the Brandon Wheat Kings. That game will be played in Prince George at 7:00 that night.