Cougars beat the Royals

“We competed from start to finish and did a lot of good things tonight. We came back from being down early and played with the lead. When you play a complete game, you give yourself a chance to win and we look like a team that took is showing signs of growth,” said Associate Coach Jason Smith post-game.

It was a big bounce-back performance from the Cougars after a 5-0 setback to the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday. Friday’s win was their second in three games against the Royals this season, as the Cougars have yet to lose in regulation to the Royals (2-0-1-0).

The Cougars trailed 1-0 after the first period, despite a solid opening 20-minutes. The Royals’ Brayden Tracey scored a power-play goal midway through the frame to give Victoria the 1-0 leading heading into the intermission.

Prince George came out swinging in the second, as Kaddoura tied the game with his first of the season two minutes and nine seconds into the frame. Then, Dowhaniuk hammered home his first in the WHL one minute and 14 seconds after Kaddoura’s goal to put Prince George up 2-1.

The Royals’ Trentyn Crane tied it midway through the second, but the Cougars retook the lead thanks to a great effort from Hooker. The Cougars’ winger drove the net from the right-wing and put his shot inside the far post and past the goalie’s blocker at 18:08.

In the third period, Gronick sealed the win for the Cougars with his empty-net goal with 26 seconds left. Upper provided the finishing touches on the victory on the very next shift. The 19-year-old got his first of the season with just 16 seconds left on the clock, as he snuck a shot through the goalie’s pad for his first of the season.

by Randi-Marie Adams

Cougars beat the Royals

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