The Prince George Cougars have officially recorded their second highest win total in their 22 year franchise history.Saturday night at CN Centre in front of 4290 strong the Prince George Cougars secured a  4-1 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. Chase Witala and Brad Morrison each had a goal and an assist while Ty Edmonds stopped 32 of the 33 shots fired his way to lead the Cougars to victory. Dominic Zwerger had the lone tally for Spokane while goaltender Tyson Verhelst made 38 saves in the loss.

Heading into the game, Cougars head coach Mark Holick preached the importance of a good start, and 46 seconds into the first the Cougars jumped out to a lead when Chase Witala ripped home his 39^th of the season from the right circle.

Back came the Chiefs though at 3:14 when Dominic Zwerger slid his 25^th past Ty Edmonds and home to tie the game at one. That’s how the first period came to an end.

Eearly in the second though the Cougars restored their lead when Brad Morrison lifted a backhand pass over the left shoulder of Verhelst and home for his 26^th game of the season. Morrison’s goal came just 27 seconds into the middle frame.

The Cougars outshot the Chiefs 18-11 in the second and held a 29-26 shot advantage after 40 minutes, but the score remained 2-1 for Prince George until late in the third period.

With time winding down the Cougars grabbed some insurance when Brogan O’Brien knocked home a Jesse Gabrielle rebound from in front of the Chiefs’ goal for his 18^th of the season and a 3-1 Cougars lead.

Kody McDonald then added an empty-netter with four seconds left to lift the Cougars to their 36^th victory. The Cougars were one-for-five on the power play while the Chiefs went zero-for-four. The final shots were 42-33 favoring the Cougars who finish their home stand with a 3-1 record.

They will now head to the road with a three point lead on the Kamloops Blazers for third in the B.C. Division, and their magic number to clinch a playoff spot sits at two. Any combination of two Cougar victories or Tri-City Americans regulation losses would help the Cougars secure a playoff berth for a second straight season.

Next up: The Kelowna Rockets on Wednesday from Prospera Place in Kelowna.