Cougars Drop Fourth Straight in 5-2 Loss to Penticton
WHL Prince George Cougars

Cougars Drop Fourth Straight in 5-2 Loss to Penticton

Published on January 7, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


PRINCE GEORGE, BC - The Prince George Cougars dropped their fourth straight game, falling 5-2 to the Penticton Vees on Tuesday night at the CN Centre. Kooper Gizowski and Carson Carels scored for the Cougars, while goaltender Alexander Levshyn turned aside 36 of 40 shots.

The opening period featured an early momentum swing in favour of the Cougars. Jett Lajoie delivered a clean hit on Sean Burick, which prompted Brooks DeMars to drop the gloves with Lajoie, resulting in a Cougar power play. Prince George capitalized, as Gizowski snapped home his 17th goal of the season with the man advantage just 3:12 into the contest.

Penticton answered later in the frame, with Booker Toninato wiring a wrist shot past Levshyn at 14:10 to tie the game at 1-1. The score remained deadlocked through the first 20 minutes.

In the second period, the Vees took their first lead of the night at 2:22. Levshyn made an initial save, but Jacob Kvasnicka buried the rebound to make it 2-1. The Cougars responded quickly on another power play, as Carels-playing in his first game since being with Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship-found the back of the net at 4:16 to even the score.

Levshyn kept Prince George in the game with several key stops in the middle frame, including an impressive pad stack, and the teams headed into the second intermission tied 2-2.

Penticton regained the lead early in the third period when Fort St. James product Diego Johnson snapped a shot past Levshyn from the left circle at 1:59. The Vees added an insurance marker at 15:32, as Louis Wehmann scored on a breakaway to make it 4-2. Kvasnicka sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 19:39, backhanding the puck the length of the ice.

Post-Game Interview with GM & HC Mark Lamb

https://media.chl.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2026/01/07031625/Mark-Lamb-Post-Game.mp3

The Cougars and Vees collide once again tomorrow night at 7:00pm at the CN Centre.

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from January 7, 2026


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