Sports stats



WHL Prince George Cougars

Break Doesn't Slow Cougars who Take Third Straight Win

December 28, 2019 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


EVERETT, WA- The Prince George Cougars picked up where they left off before the Christmas break, beating the Everett Silvertips 4-3 on Friday night at Angel of the Winds Arena.

Prince George earned their third-straight win which is a new season high and won for the first time in Everett in nearly three years. The Cougars used a three-goal first period to help propel them to their ninth win of the season.

Josh Maser, Filip Koffer, and Blake Eastman all scored in the opening 20-minutes. Ilijah Colina scored the game-winning goal in the third period. 16-year-old Tyler Brennan made 35 saves for his third win in his young WHL career.

Dawson Butt scored twice for Everett and Bryce Kindopp had their other goal. Keegan Karki started in net for the Silvertips but was replaced by Braden Holt after yielding three goals on seven shots in 15-minutes of work. Holt stopped 19 of 20 the rest of the way. The loss snapped the Silvertips point streak at eight. They were 7-0-1-0 in their previous eight games before Friday's setback.

Maser scored his team-leading 16th goal of the season five-minutes into the game to open the scoring. The 20-year-old came down the left-wing the fired a wrist-shot that he squeezed his through the goalie's arm at 5:04.

Everett tied the game on a Dawson Butt goal 1:10 after Maser's but the Cougars regrouped to scored two goals in the back half of the opening frame. Filip Koffer scored in his return to the line up to restore the Cougars lead at 2-1. Koffer chased down the puck and scored short side from the right-wing. He had missed the previous three games before the Christmas break, as he was attending Czech Republic's National Junior Selection camp.

Not even two-minutes after Koffer made it 3-1, it was Blake Eastman padding the Cougars' lead. The rookie forward scored his first WHL goal after picking the corner over Karki's shoulder from the right-wing. Eastman's first career goal ended Karki's night in the Everett crease.

Everett did get within the goal seconds into the middle frame. Bryce Kindopp made it 3-2 just 19-seconds into the period after he found himself along out front of the net.

The Silvertips pressed again early in the third period and were rewarded with a power-play, which they cashed in on. Butt scored his second of the game on a rebound after Gianni Fairbrother's point-shot was stopped just 1:42 into the third. However, the boisterous crowd of over 7,500 was quickly subdued.

52-seconds after the Silvertips tied the game, it was Ilijah Colina who played hero for Prince George. During a four-on-four sequence, Colina cut to the middle at the face-off dot and fired a wrist-shot over the goalie's glove to put the Cougars back ahead 4-3. His sixth of the season was the game-winner.

Game Notes: Friday was the Cougars' first win in Everett since December 30th, 2016. They had lost their previous four regular season games at Angel of the Winds Arena. Koffer's goal was his first since October 26th. With his two goals Friday, Colina has five points (3-2-5) in his last three games. This is the Cougars' first three-game win streak since October 13th-21st, 2018.

Next Up: The Cougars (9-20-1-3) continue their weekend road trip Saturday, as they make their win to Vancouver Island to face the Victoria Royals at Save on Foods Memorial Arena; puck drop is 7:05 pm. Fans can watch the game at Brown's Socialhouse, or they can listen to 94.3 The GOAT.

Boxscore

Power-Play

Cougars- 0/1

Silvertips - 1/4

Shots

Cougars- 27

Silvertips- 38

Three Stars: 1) Dawson Butt 2) Ilijah Colina 3) Braden Holt

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from December 28, 2019


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central