The march ahead to the post season will still be daunting to say the least, but IF the Cougars get there, they might look back at Monday’s game in Prince Albert as a rallying point. Five different times the Cougars trailed and five different times the Cougars forced a tie en route to a 6-5 shootout victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. One game removed from being a healthy scratch, Zach Pochiro tied the game with 15 seconds left in regulation and then notched the shootout winner for Prince George who are back within eight points of eighth in the West.

From the drop of the puck both teams made it clear that they meant business. Both teams made it their mission to finish their checks, and grind the other team down whenever possible. Jayden Hart opened the scoring for Prince Albert at 15:08 of the first period off a quick tic-tac-toe passing play with Brendon Guhle and Reid Gardiner.

Late in the first the Cougars would answer on a power play when Marc McNulty scooped a backhand over the outstretched glove of Nick McBride. After one period the score was tied 1-1 with Prince Albert holding a modest edge in the shots department.

Twice in the second period Prince Albert took the lead only to have Prince George force a tie.

Josh Morrissey scored off a faceoff at 3:28 of the second, but Troy Bourke answered for Prince George under two minutes later.

Darcy Zaharichuk then made it 3-2 for Prince Albert off a two-on-one rush, but Todd Fiddler then countered with a gorgeous shorthanded breakaway goal to force the third tie of the game.

The second period ended with a 3-3 score, but the Cougars outshot Prince Albert 17-14 in the second.

Prince Albert grabbed their fourth lead of the game just 1:28 into the third period when Chance Braid knocked home a rebound off of Graham Craig’s point shot. Once again though the Raiders lead would be short lived because Todd Fiddler scored off a Sam Ruopp rebound at the 6:01 mark to tie the game at four.

You guessed it, Prince Albert took a 5-4 lead on a power play at 9:14. Josh Morrissey’s point shot was stopped but Dakota Conroy was able to lift his backhand over Ty Edmonds and in.

From there the Cougars poured it on with shots and chances but rookie netminder Nick McBride stood tall and kept his team ahead.

Could the Cougars possibly have one more comeback in them? Or had their luck run out?

With 19 seconds remaining and the net empty, the Prince George Cougars won a faceoff back to the right point. Marc McNulty slid to the middle, and got his shot through traffic. McBride made the first save, but Zach Pochiro pounced on the rebound and knocked it home for his 18th of the season. Tied game!

65 minutes wouldn’t be enough, and for a 10th time this season the Cougars would require a shootout.

Neither team was able to capitalize through the first three rounds. Leon Draisaitl, Josh Morrissey, Reid Gardiner and Dakota Conroy were all denied by Edmonds, but McBride turned aside Troy Bourke, Todd Fiddler and Jordan Tkatch.

After Conroy’s miss in round four, the Cougars sent Zach Pochiro onto the ice to try and win the game. Pochiro skated in slowly on McBride and snuck a wrist shot past him to secure the two points for the visitors.

For Zach Pochiro it was a memorable first-star performance which came in the game following his being scratched against the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The Cougars outshot Prince Albert 48-36 while both teams finished one-for-three on their power plays.

With the win, the Cougars improve to 19-26-2-5 and more importantly are back within eight points of the Tri-City Americans for the final playoff spot in the West. With 20 games remaining in their regular season, the Cougars will look to inch a little closer on Wednesday night when they take the ice against the Saskatoon Blades.