Cougars coming home with 2-0 series lead over Vees

The Prince George Cougars are in the drivers seat when it comes to the second round of the WHL Playoffs, walloping the Penticton Vees 6-2 in game two of the series and taking a 2-0 series lead.

“They pushed for sure, they’re a good team, but really important for our group to come out and be prepared off the get go, and get two shorties right off the bat, everybody’s starting to feel good about themselves, stay disciplined again here for the most part of the night, great effort in two games now,” said Cougars Assistant Coach Carter Rigby on the post-game show on 94.3 the Goat.

The Cougars were outshot 42-25 by the Vees, but were once again the better of the two teams.

Special teams were a big part of the story in game two. Terik Parascak and Tyrone Sobry found the back of the net to give the Cougars the first two goals, both of which came shorthanded, twelve seconds apart.

“It got quiet pretty quick, and obviously when you get two shorthanded goals on you like that, it takes a lot of life out of your powerplay, for sure, so it was nice to see Perry Sobes get that,” Rigby said.

The Cougars powerplay was just as lethal, scoring twice with the man-advantage twice. Parascak scored his second goal of the first period with a Vee in the box, slamming home a loose puck past Andrew Reyelts to make it 3-0.

Jett Lajoie also tipped home a powerplay marker in the third period, to give the Cougars six goals on the night.

After a strong game one, Lajoie was even better in game two, scoring twice, including a highlight reel goal in the final minute of the first period to extend the Cougar lead to 4-0.

“He’s so effective, he plays both side of the special teams, he’s feisty, he’s gritty, gets on top of you, he’s quite yappy on the ice as well and likes to mix it up,” Rigby said.

“He maybe goes unnoticed too, for sure, he’s not always on the stat sheet, but he’s got 21 [in the regular season] and I thought last night he was really, really good, and tonight followed it up with another good effort too.”

The fifth goal on the night for the Cougars came from the fourth line, a group that has been strong in the playoffs so far. With 1:36 to go in the second period, Riley Ashe made a nice move to find Dawson Seitz.

The two Penticton goals came in the third period while the Cougars were already up 6-0. Louis Wehman found the back of the net 8:27 into the final frame, while Brady Birnie scored 2:16 later.

Josh Ravensbergen put on another strong performance, turning aside 40 pucks.

Andrew Reyelts got the start in net for the Vees, but was pulled after allowing four goals on 11 shots in the first period. Ethan McCalllum came in for the remaining 40 minutes and put on a strong showing, making 12 stops on 14 shots.

3,648 fans were in attendance at the South Okanagan Events Centre, a number that was boosted by a strong contingent of Cougar fans making the trek from the Northern Capital.

The box score is here.

Games three and four will be played at the CN Centre on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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Send us a news tip by emailing cariboonews@vistaradio.ca.

Darin Bain
Darin Bain
Darin is a news reporter for Vista Radio's Prince George stations. His career started in the Cariboo in 2020, working as a News Reporter in both 100 Mile House and Williams Lake before making the move to Prince George in late 2021.

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