For a fourth straight Friday home game, the Prince George Cougars and their opponents required 65-plus minutes of action to determine a winner. The Prince George Cougars trailed three different times in regulation and even once in a the shootout, but still found a way to secure a 6-5 shootout victory Friday against the Vancouver Giants at home. Chase Witala had two goals in regulation plus the shootout winner and Peter Kosterman added three assists for the Cougars who are now just two points back of Vancouver in the race for eighth in the Western conference. Dalton Sward  responded with a three goal effort for Vancouver.

During the pre-game warmup, Cougars goaltender Brett Zarowny (who was originally supposed to start in net) was injured, meaning that rookie Ty Edmonds was forced into duty without much time to mentally prepare, and early on Vancouver took control when Arvin Atwal fired home a shot from the left point on a power play to give his team a lead at the 2:17 mark.

Vancouver padded their lead at 9:54 of the period shorthanded when Dalton Sward stole the puck from a Cougars defender and raced in alone and blasted one through the legs of Edmonds for his fourth of the season and his first of three on the night.

13 seconds later the Cougars responded with a power play marker of their own when Klarc Wilson took a Brad Morrison pass and quickly slipped a puck past Vancouver’s Payton Lee for his seventh goal of the season.

That goal seemed to calm the nerves of the Cougars who skated into the first intermission down 2-1 despite being outshot by a 12-6 margin.

Vancouver came out hard in the second and nearly extended their lead a few different times. Ty Edmonds made some key saves off of Jackson Houck and Arvin Atwal to keep his team within one and eventually the Cougars were rewarded for their resilience.

From the left wing corner, Jansen Harkins threw a puck harmlessly towards the Giants goal. Unfortunately for Vancouver, the Giants defender redirected the Harkins shot past his own goaltender and in, and the Cougars were all tied at two.

Just over three minutes later Vancouver responded with a go ahead goal, and once again it was Dalton Sward who found twine. Sward followed up a Thomas Foster rebound and snuck it past Edmonds and in to restore the Giants lead.

Late in the second the Cougars would get it back when Alex Forsberg tucked home a Todd Fiddler rebound for his fourth goal of the season.

Although the Cougars were being badly outshot by a 35-16 margin through two periods, they went into the second intermission tied 3-3, and carried that positive momentum into the third period.

Chase Witala gave the Cougars their first lead of the game with a beautiful one-timed blast from the right circle. Witala’s team leading 17th goal seemed to spark the crowd and the shorthanded bench, but it wouldn’t last very long.

Brett Kulak tied the game at four with a shot from the point off a Vancouver power play. The Cougars did a great job to kill off the first penalty of a five-on-three, but Kulak’s point shot snuck past the defense and past Ty Edmonds for his 11th of the season.

55 seconds later Vancouver regained their advantage thanks to a right wing wrist shot from Dalton Sward that hand-cuffed the Cougars netminder. Sward’s hat-trick goal made it 5-4 Vancouver and the Giants appeared poised for their fourth consecutive victory against the Cougars.

Chase Witala had other ideas, and with the net empty with just under two minutes remaining, Chase Witala pounced on a loose puck off a face off victory from Jordan Tkatch and wired one past Payton Lee for his second of the game and his 18th of the season, pulling the Cougars back even for a third time in the game.

33 seconds into overtime the Cougars came awfully close to winning, but Marc McNulty’s shot from the slot went straight off the goal-post and out, and the game remained tied.

Yet again, a shootout would be required on a Friday night in Prince George, and after a Todd Fiddler miss, Vancouver’s Cain Franson made it 1-0 with a nice backhand move.

Alex Forsberg responded with a goal for Prince George and Carter Popoff then lost a handle on his shootout attempt when he tried to go to his backhand.

Chase Witala was summoned to try and give the Cougars the lead, and the 18-year-old delivered with a wrist shot up high on Payton Lee.

Brett Kulak was charged with tying the game for Vancouver, but he, like Popoff lost control on his shootout attempt, and the game ended with the Cougars securing that oh-so-important second point.

The victory moves the Cougars back within two points of the eighth placed Giants in the Western Conference standings. It also gives the Cougars their third victory in their past five games and a record of 11-15-1-3.

What’s even more impressive about Friday’s victory is the fact that the Cougars accomplished it without the services of seven regulars. Troy Bourke (suspension), Zach Pochiro, David Soltes, Jari Erricson, Raymond Grewal, Tate Olson and Brett Zarowny were all missing from the game, but the Cougars were able to dig deep and grab two points.

Vancouver finished the night two-for-three on the power play while the Cougars responded with a one-for-one night. Vancouver outshot the Cougars 51-35.

These teams will go back at it on Saturday night at the CN Centre as the Cougars look to secure their first weekend sweep of 2013-2014.