Cougars Fall 3-0 To Saskatoon

By 250 News

Unfortunately, the Prince George Cougars couldn't end the four game home stand the way they started it.  The Eastern Conference leading Saskatoon Blades scored two in the second period and one more in the third for a 3-0 win at CN Centre Tuesday night.

The Cougars were wrapping up four straight at home, which started with a 4-3 win December 1 over the Calgary Hitmen, but was followed by back to back 5-4 losses to the Seattle Thunderbirds Friday and Saturday.  As for the Blades, they were ending their BC Division road trip, looking to go 4-for-5.  There was no scoring in the first period, as James Priestner for the Cougars and Steven Stanford of the Blades were perfect on all 10 shots they faced in the opening frame.

In the second period, the Cougars had a power play go unsuccessful and when Brent Benson jumped out of the penalty box, he joined a 2-on-2 rush and scored his fifth goal of the year to break the ice, beating Priestner low on the glove hand at 5:49.  The Blades would add to their lead when defenceman Stefan Elliott scored his 10th from the high slot on the power play, for a 2-0 Saskatoon lead through 40 minutes.  The Blades out-shot the Cougars 14-7 in the middle frame.

In the third, the Blades Darian Dziurzynski scored his team leading 16th goal of the year at 6:30 to round out the scoring, with Stanford blocking all 29 Cougars shots he faced, including 12 more in the third.  Priestner made 29 saves for the Cougars on the night, including seven of eight in the third.  The Blades were 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Cougars were 0-for-3.  The Blades improve to 22-7-0-1 on the season while the Cougars fall to 15-12-2-1.

Prince George heads on the road for a date with the Portland Winterhawks, Friday and Saturday.  It'll be the first meeting of the season between the clubs.  The Cougars will start an eight game home stand next Tuesday against the Swift Current Broncos, starting at 7:00pm at CN Centre.  Tickets are available by calling Ticketmaster at 250-564-5585.

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