Image credit: Prince George Cougars

By CKPG Today

Cougars 6 Winterhawks 1

Back to Prince George: Cougars force game six after 6-1 win in Portland

May 3, 2024 | 5:09 AM

PORTLAND — The Prince George Cougars have sent the Western Hockey League (WHL) Western Conference Finals back up north of the border.

The Cougars blew out the Portland Winterhawks 6-1 on the road Thursday (May 2) night in game five of the WHL Western Conference Finals. They now trail the best-of-seven series 3-2.

In a win-or-go-home scenario, the Cougars surrendered the first goal seven minutes in. However, Koehn Ziemmer scored twice to close out the first period – a wrist shot in tight from the left circle blocker side and a wrist shot between the hashmarks – to give Prince George a 2-1 lead.

The Cougars cushioned their lead halfway through the second period as Hunter Laing put home a rebound on the power play to make it a 3-1 game. The Cougars added three more goals in the third period, including a penalty shot goal from Borya Valis, en route to the 6-1 win. Joshua Ravensbergen made 25 saves in his return to the Cougars net after sitting in game four.

Game six of the WHL Western Conference Finals takes place Monday (May 6) at CN Centre. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m.

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The Cougars must win in order to force a do-or-die game seven Tuesday at CN Centre.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Winterhawks, Gabe Klassen (5) from Marek Alscher and Tyson Jugnauth, 7:03

1-1, Cougars, Koehn Ziemmer (3) from Viliam Kmec, 9:43

2-1, Cougars, Koehn Ziemmer 2 (4) from Ondrej Becher and Keaton Dowhaniuk, 18:38

Second Period

3-1, Cougars, Hunter Laing (1) from Borya Valis and Hudson Thornton (power play), 11:47

Third period

4-1, Cougars, Ondrej Becher (5) from Oren Shtrom, 3:22

5-1, Cougars, Borya Valis (8) penalty shot, 11:19

6-1, Cougars, Keaton Dowhaniuk (4) from Ondrej Becher and Koehn Ziemmer, 13:30

Goaltending

Joshua Ravensbergen (W), Cougars, 25 saves on 26 shots in 60 minutes played.

Jan Špunar (L), Winterhawks, 31 saves on 37 shots in 60 minutes played.