Sports stats



WHL Prince George Cougars

Everett Outlasts Cougars in OT

December 29, 2021 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


Prince George Cougars centre Koehn Ziemmer reacts after a goal against the Everett Silvertips
Prince George Cougars centre Koehn Ziemmer reacts after a goal against the Everett Silvertips
(Prince George Cougars, Credit: James Doyle)

PRINCE GEORGE, BC- The Prince George Cougars earned a single point in their first game back from the Christmas break, after a 6-5 overtime setback to the Everett Silvertips at the CN Centre Tuesday.

Playing with just 16 skaters, the Cougars (13-15-1-0) went toe-to-toe with the top team in the U.S. Division. Even with the loss, the Cougars have points in each of their last five home games (4-0-1-0).

The Cougars' bench boss said he could see signs of rust after his team played their first game in 10 days, "I thought it was a bit scrambly. We made too many mistakes in our own end, but on the other hand we did a lot of good things offensively. It was the first game back from the Christmas break, so you expected that," said Cougars' General Manager & Head Coach Mark Lamb.

Keaton Dowhaniuk had three assists and Koehn Ziemmer (1g-1a) and Craig Armstrong (0g-2a) each had two points in the loss. Ziemmer, Blake Eastman, Ethan Samson, Jaren Brinson, and Riley Heidt all lit the lamp. Samson scored the Cougars' first short-handed goal of the season. Ty Young suffered the loss in net, as he stopped 27 of 33 shots fired his way.

Niko Huuhtanen led the way offensively for the Silvertips as he had two goals and four points. Alex Swetlikoff also had a pair of goals for Everett, including the overtime winner.

The two teams were tied 2-2 after an eventful opening 20 minutes. Huuhtanen put the visitors up 1-0 2:07 into the first. Prince George responded with a pair of goals from Eastman and Samson to take a 2-1 lead midway through the frame, but Everett countered with a goal from Swetlikoff with six-minutes left to level it 2-2.

Everett carried that momentum in the second, as they scored two more times to go up 4-2 midway through the frame. Both Kyan Grouette and Roan Woodward each scored their first WHL goals in the middle stanza. Grouette made it 3-2 just shy of the five-minute mark and Woodward made it 4-2 12-minutes into the second.

Brinson gave the Cougars a shot in the arm with his power play goal with just over two-minutes left in the second to make it 4-3. Brinson's goal came with just one second left on the Cougars' power play. His goal seemed to spark Prince George in the third.

Ziemmer tied the game 4-4 just 1:11 into the third period when he picked the corner after flying down the left wing. The Cougars kept coming and Heidt put the home team back ahead midway through the frame. Heidt finished off a three-on-one rush, as he took the drop pass from Ziemmer and buried from the high slot at 10:40.

That celebration was quickly muted, as Everett equalized less than a minute later. Huuhtanen scored his second of the game at 11:22, as he he squeezed his shot through Young's pads.

Huuhtanen then turned into the playmaker in overtime, as he setup Swetlikoff for his second of the night and the game-winner at 2:15.

Game Notes: The Cougars are now 8-6-1-0 at the CN Centre this season. Before Tuesday, the Cougars were the only team in the WHL to not have played overtime. Forwards Cayden Glover and Carlin Dezainde, acquired Tuesday from Medicine Hat, are expected to arrive in Prince George Wednesday. Defenceman Jonas Brøndberg, acquired Monday from Portland, is schedule to arrive later this week.

Next Game: Wednesday, Dec 28th vs. Everett Silvertips, 7:00 pm.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring

Cougars: Blake Eastman, Ethan Samson, Jaren Brinson, Koehn Ziemmer, Riley Heidt

Silvertips: Niko Huuhtanen (2), Alex Swetlikoff (2), Kyan Grouette, Roan Woodward

Goaltending

Cougars: Ty Young, 62:15, 27 saves, 33 shots

Silvertips: Braden Holt, 62:15, 32 saves, 37 shots

Power-Play

Cougars: 1/3

Silvertips: 1/4

Shots

Cougars: 37

Silvertips: 33

Three Stars: 1) Alex Swetlikoff, 2) Koehn Ziemmer 3) Niko Huuhtanen

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics




Images from this story

Prince George Cougars centre Koehn Ziemmer reacts after a goal against the Everett Silvertips
Prince George Cougars centre Koehn Ziemmer reacts after a goal against the Everett Silvertips
(James Doyle)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from December 29, 2021


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