Make it four straight victories for the Prince George Cougars. Friday night in Everett, the Cougars scored three unanswered goals in the third period en route to a 3-1 victory in Everett against the Silvertips. Jansen Harkins, Tate Olson and Chase Witala supplied the goals while goaltender Ty Edmonds was sharp turning aside 26 of the 27 shots he faced between the pipes. Everett’s lone tally came from Kohl Bauml on a two-man advantage power play.

After a back-and-forth first period the Cougars got into some penalty trouble in the later stages. With a lengthy five-on-three power play chance, the Silvertips took full advantage. Noah Juulsen’s point shot was denied by Ty Edmonds but the rebound went right to the stick of Kohl Bauml who made no mistake into the empty net to give the home team the lead.

Despite an even period territorially, the Silvertips outshot the Cougars 10-3.

The Silvertips continued to make life tough for the Cougars offensively in the first half of the second period. There was no shortage of zone time for the Cougars, but the Silvertips did a great job of keeping pucks away from their netminder Austin Lotz. That changed though in the second half of the period as the Cougars started hitting the net with more regularity. Five of their seven second period shots came in the back half of the period, and momentum was starting to build despite the fact that the score was still 1-0 for Everett after two periods.

Early in the third the Cougars tied the game after a terrific shift offensively from the forward trio of Aaron Macklin, Brad Morrison and Jansen Harkins. Behind the Everett goal, Morrison and Harkins continued to cycle the puck back and forth, and then when the moment was right, Morrison slid a backhand pass to the front of the net where Harkins was waiting. One second later it was 1-1, and Jansen Harkins had his 10^th goal of the season and 35^th point, which is now a new season high for him.

The Cougars and Silvertips continued to trade chances, but both Edmonds and Lotz held their ground. The Cougars played a strong defensive road period, and did not back down from the Silvertips physically.

Late in the period with 5:05 remaining the Cougars took the lead. Colby McAuley started the play by winning the puck free from behind the Everett goal. McAuley then found Zach Pochiro along the right wing boards. Pochiro maneuvered his way into the middle and then sent a pass back to Tate Olson at the left point. Olson wound up and fired a rocket through traffic and cleanly past Austin Lotz for his fourth goal of the season. Three of Olson’s four goals have been game winners this season.

Chase Witala then sealed the deal with an empty netter at 18:58 of the third to clinch victory for the Cougars who improve their road record to 8-6 and their overall record to 17-15. Their win coupled with the Victoria Royals loss moves the Cougars to within two points of second place in the B.C. Division standings. This current four game winning streak matches the longest winning streak that the Cougars have had all season.

Next up for the Cougars, a battle with the Spokane Chiefs on Saturday night from Spokane. It’s the first of three consecutive meetings between the two clubs.