Friday night in Regina, the Prince George Cougars kicked off a six game Eastern road trip with an 8-0 loss to the Pats. Boston Leier had three goals and an assist while goaltender Dawson MacAuley stopped all 21 shots he faced for the shutout.

Mid-way through the first period Regina grabbed the lead when Boston Leier converted off a Morgan Klimchuk pass. Under two minutes later Carter Hansen tipped home a Patrick D’Amico shot past Adam Beukeboom to make it 2-0.

Regina made it 3-0 when Dyson Stevenson scored on a power play breakaway. Then just 1:10 later (also on a power play) Boston Leier tallied his second of the game to make the score 4-0 for Regina. Beukeboom’s night was done after he allowed four goals on 12 shots.

In came Ty Edmonds who was greeted with a Chandler Stephenson goal at the 18:26 mark to give the Pats a 5-0 cushion. Regina outshot the Cougars 16-3 in the first, and took advantage of the four power plays they were given.

The second period featured zero goals but both teams certainly had their chances. MacAuley and Edmonds both made timely stops to keep the score where it was.

Logan McVeigh extended the Regina lead to 6-0 at the 5:03 mark of the third when he knocked home a Chandler Stephenson rebound. Boston Leier then completed his hat trick at the 7:00 mark of the third. The game’s final goal came courtesy of Morgan Klimchuk while shorthanded.

Regina finished the game with two goals on eight power play chances while the Cougars were unsuccessful on their lone power play attempt. Both Cougar goaltenders surrendered four goals against.

With the loss, the Cougars record now sits at 18-25-2-5. Tri-City’s victory over Seattle Friday now puts the Cougars nine points behind in the race for eighth place. The Cougars have 22 games remaining to try and catch them.

They’ll get the chance to inch closer on Saturday when they clash with the Brandon Wheat Kings.