Cougars Fall to Blades At Home.
Friday night in Prince George, the Cougars put 42 shots on Saskatoon goalie Andrey Makarov. Unfortunately for the home team, he stopped them all and helped pace Saskatoon to a 4-0 shutout victory. Matej Stransky and Graeme Craig each had two points for Saskatoon in the victory.
The Prince George Cougars got off to a strong start, and at one point were outshooting the Blades 5-1. Both goaltenders looked solid as both Mac Engel and Andrey Makarov were sharp early for their respective teams.
At 12:10 of the first period, Caleb Belter was kicked out of the game for boarding, while Lukas Sutter was penalized two, five and ten for fighting. Ultimately it led to two minutes of four-on-four action where the Blades would capitalize twice.
First it was Brenden Walker who tipped home a Graeme Craig point shot for his second of the season at 12:55. 22 seconds later, Saskatoon would strike again when Matej Stransky deked Mac Engel and slid his sixth of the season into the net. Seconds before that goal was scored, Rinalds Rosinskis blocked a shot from the point, and was down on the play.
Despite the 2-0 deficit, the Cougars outshot Saskatoon 14-12, and would continue to carry forward some good momentum into the second period.
Early in the second the Cougars were given two power plays, and hit two goal-posts on the second opportunity which kept the game at 2-0. Makarov continued to make key saves for his team as the Cougars continue to pepper him with good scoring chances throughout the second.
More of the same strong play in the third from Prince George, who at one point were outshooting the Blades 11-2. But after a good chance one way, Shane McColgan then fed Josh Nicholls on a breakaway, and the Blades leading scorer made no mistake, beating Mac Engel on a backhand to make it 3-0.
Adam Kambeitz would add a late power play goal to make it a 4-0 final.
Prince George outshot Saskatoon 42-36 through 60 minutes, but were unable to solve Andrey Makarov who earned his first shutout of the season.
20-year-old forward Ryan Hanes made his Cougars debut on Friday and looked good alongside Alex Forsberg and Zach Pochiro. Hanes was named third star for his efforts.
The Cougars (7-11-1-2) are back in action Saturday night in Kamloops against the Blazers.
Comments
most of the 42 shots were at the goalie! the cougars started off with 5 or 6 wins, so their winning % over the last 10 games is their usual abysmal low….i see no hope
I would suggest that ALL of their 42 shots were at the goalie! Wouldn’t count as a shot otherwise. :)
No argument on the no hope though. As long as they have the worst GM in the league they will perpetually fight for the worst overall record.
No there is a difference. Shots at a goalie don’t usually go in because he doesnt have to move to stop it Shots at the uncovered parts of the net have a better chance as the goalie has to make the save. Chances are the coach is in scream at the team mode so instead of trying to make a play take the shot so you don’t get in “rhymes with skit”
Ditto on the management
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