Cougars Lead BC Division Following 7-5 Win In Kamloops Saturday

Sunday, November 28, 2010 05:40 AM

It looked like a tough week when the schedule came out, but the Prince George Cougars won all three games in four nights, capping it off with a 7-5 victory in Kamloops Saturday night over the Blazers. The Cougars, who had defeated the Bruins in Chilliwack 4-0 Wednesday and Regina 5-3 Friday at CN Centre, left Interior Savings Centre with not only two points, but first place in the BC Division and the second seed in the Western Conference.

The Cougars were facing Kamloops for the third time this season, with the teams splitting the first two encounters. The Blazers opened the season with a 5-2 win on September 24 and the Cougars followed with an 8-1 blasting of the Blazers October 16. On Saturday, the Cougars opened the scoring for the third consecutive game when Martin Marincin scored his ninth goal of the season with a 5-on-3 power play at 7:26. Brett Connolly and Sena Acolatse drew helpers, with Connolly now on a five game point streak. The Blazers got even on a power play goal from Jordan DePape, notching his 10th at 13:27 on the man advantage to tie the game at 1. The Blazers out-shot Prince George 9-6 in the first period.

The second period was a wild one, which began with Brendan Ranford getting his league leading 23rd goal of the season 39 seconds into the period. But the Cougars roared back, when Nick Buonassisi tied the game at two by sliding the puck under Blazers goalie Cam Lanigan for his ninth of the season at 6:46. Marincin drew the only assist. Then Charles Inglis, who had gone 10 games without a goal would end that drought with a pair of tallies 1:47 apart. At 13:08, Inglis worked a great give-and-go with Buonassisi for his ninth of the season on the power play. Marincin added his third point with an assist. Then at 14:55, Inglis fired a high shot over Lanigan's glove hand for his 10th of the year, putting the Cougars in front 4-2. Buonassisi earned the lone assist. But the Blazers fought back with two power play goals of their own. Brady Gaudet got his first of the season at 16:35, firing a slap shot past James Priestner, making his fourth straight start in the Cougars goal, and Colin Smith banged home his fifth at 18:19 to tie the game at four. But Connolly would get his 20th goal of the year when he collected a rebound in front of the Blazers goal and slipped the puck past Lanigan for a 5-4 Cougars lead at 19:41. Marincin would notch his fourth point of the game with his third assist. Kamloops out-shot Prince George 14-13 in the second period.

In the third, the Cougars penalty kill redeemed itself when Cody Carlson got loose on a 2-on-1 rush and fired a shot past Lanigan for his fourth goal of the season and second short-handed goal since joining the Cougars at 6:12, to give Prince George a 6-4 lead. It stayed that way until 18:24 of the third, when Ranford fired home his second of the game from the right face-off circle, but Taylor Stefishen would finally finish the scoring at 19:27 into an empty net, his fifth of the year to salt a 7-5 Cougars victory. The Blazers out-shot the Cougars 18-7 in the third and 41-26 in the game, but the Cougars improve their record to 14-10-2-0 with the victory, while the Blazers fall to 13-13-0-1. The Cougars were 3-for-7 on the power play and the Blazers were 3-for-8.

With the Vancouver Giants losing in a shoot-out in Red Deer Saturday, the Cougars take first place in the BC Division and second in the conference, based on one more win than the Giants, with both teams at 30 points through 26 games. The Cougars finish the month of November 5-4-1-0 and improve their road record to an impressive 9-5-1-0 mark. The Cougars 19 points on the road is the third most collected in the league away from home. The Cougars have now won three straight road games.

The Cougars get set for 12 of the next 14 games at home, starting with the reigning WHL champion Calgary Hitmen Wednesday night, starting at 7:00pm. Tickets are available by calling Ticketmaster at 250-564-5585.

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