Prince George, B.C. – Jansen Harkins scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Prince George Cougars to a 4-3 victory over the Everett Silvertips in a tight contest that had all of the atmosphere of a playoff game in Everett Friday night.

Harkins scored just over a minute (1:02) into the first period and again just 64 second into the second to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead through nearly a period and a half.  But the Silvertips, who went into the encounter in first place in the WHL, scored three straight goals to grab the lead.

Matt Fonteyne scored his 9th of the season at 9:19 of the second, Dominic Zwerger tied it at 2-2 at 13:48 of the second and the Silvertips took a one-goal lead when Fonteyne notched his second of the night at the 2:16 mark of the third period.

But the Cougars showed their grit by bouncing back at 4:15 of the third when defenceman Brendan Guhle scored to square it at 3-3 and set the stage for a battle between two excellent clubs through the final 15 minutes of regulation time.  And it was Josh Curtis scoring the winner, with assists to Justin Almeida and Sam Ruopp, at 14:16 of the third to send the Cougars home with a victory in their final game of the 2016 calendar year.

Ty Edmonds stopped 17 of 20 Everett shots on the night while Mario Petit had 21 saves for the Silvertips.

The result improves the Cougars’ record to 27-10-2-0 and gives them 56 points atop the BC Division, the same point total as the Silvertips who have a 25-5-6-0 record and hold top spot in the U.S. Division.

The Cougars play host to the Victoria Royals next Friday and Saturday at CN Centre.