Cougars let lead slip as Blazers complete 5-4 comeback win

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But that lead wouldn’t stand for long as the Blazers would commit a penalty after Fraser Minten was called for a 2-minute boarding call.

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Some cycling of the puck and Ethan Browne found some space to whip a shot in past Blazers’ Dylan Garand to bring the score back to being even.

Not long after, Kamloops would find themselves back in the penalty box and the Cougars ensured they took advantage of the powerplay. 17-year-old Kyren Gronick tipped in a pass from Jack Sander to put the Cats ahead 2-1. The goal marked the Regina, Saskatchewan product’s first WHL goal.

Keeping with the momentum, South Surrey’s Carter MacAdams found himself scoring his first WHL goal with just over a second remaining in the opening frame to get Prince George ahead 3-1.

Early in the second period, the Kamloops showed their ability to jump back. Caedan Bankier brought the Blazers within one just 2:25 into the period after he went forehand to backhand on Gauthier.

Josh Pillar would make the Cougars’ early lead completely evaporate later in the second, catching Prince George in a pinch to bring things even 3-3.

With Prince George bringing 10 rookies to Kamloops, it may not have been a surprise to see those young guns getting involved early as Koehn Ziemmer continued the trend, pushing the Cougars ahead 4-3 as he was able to sneak past the Blazers defence and tuck the puck in behind Garand.

Blazers’ captain Connor Zary and PG’s Majid Kaddoura had to be separated a few minutes later as the two wrapped each other up. The pair headed off to their respective dressing rooms early after being handed each 5-minute fighting majors.

In the third period, Zary tied things up after breaking past the Cougars’ defence on the penalty kill and beating Gauthier on his glove side. The goal was the Calgary Flames prospect’s first of the year following a season in which he tallied 86 points in 57 games.

The breakdown continued for Prince George after Jack Sander looked to clear the puck but instead coughed it up to Reece Belton. Belton quickly found Logan Stankoven coming down in the slot, beating Gauthier for his second of the night to give Kamloops the 5-4 lead.

That’s how things would wrap up as the Cougars couldn’t get their feet back under themselves to find the game-tying marker as they dropped their first game of the season. Kamloops improves their record to 2-0.

Prince George will be back in action Monday, March 29th when they take on the Victoria Royals at Prospera Place in Kelowna.