Cougars skate past Thunderbirds in overtime

Davidson scores in 2-1 loss to Prince George

February 24, 2020 10:30 am
The Thunderbirds’ Mekai Sanders maneuvers the puck up the ice as the Cougars’ Majid Kaddoura defends during WHL play Sunday at the accesso ShoWare Center. COURTESY PHOTO, Brian Liesse, T-Birds
The Thunderbirds’ Mekai Sanders maneuvers the puck up the ice as the Cougars’ Majid Kaddoura defends during WHL play Sunday at the accesso ShoWare Center. COURTESY PHOTO, Brian Liesse, T-Birds

The Prince George Cougars defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 2-1 in overtime Sunday night at the accesso ShoWare Center.

The T-Birds (23-28-4-3) remain in the second wild-card playoff spot in the WHL’s Western Conference, two points behind the Kelowna Rockets (24-26-2-3) for the first wild-card spot. The Rockets have two games in hand on the T-Birds, with the teams meeting on March 6 in Kelowna in their fourth and final game of the season.

Prince George went in front 1-0 on a power-play goal by Vladislav Mikhalchuk at 12:13 of the second period.

Seattle tied the game 1-1 on a power-play goal by Jared Davidson at 14:17 of the third period. Owen Williams passed the puck from the left point to Keltie Jeri-Leon at the right point. Jeri-Leon skated towards the slot and then dished the puck to Davidson in the right circle. Davidson one-timed the pass and beat Prince George goalie Taylor Gauthier over the glove for his eighth goal of the season.

Josh Maser scored at 4:41 of overtime to win the game for Prince George.

Next

The T-Birds travel to Spokane on Friday to take on the Chiefs at 7:05 p.m. The T-Birds host Portland at 6:05 p.m. Saturday.

Single-game tickets are on sale online and at the ShoWare box office.

Fans who purchase the 24-flex ticket package will be able to select any available premium seat for any game, in any ticket combination, during the 2019-20 season.

SCORING SUMMARY

First period – No scoring. Penalties – Gottfried, Sea (tripping), 3:38.

Second period – 1, Prince George, Mikhalchuk 9 (Schoettler, Hooker), 12:13 (pp). Penalties – Hooker, PG (interference), :51. Roulette, Sea (tripping), 11:43.

Third period – 2, Seattle, Davidson 8 (Jeri-Leon, Williams), 14:17 (pp). Penalties – Bruggen-Cate, Sea (holding), 3:07. Hooker, PG (charging), 12:38.

Overtime – 3, Prince George, Maser 24 (Schoettler, Mikhalchuk), 4:41. Penalties – No penalties.

Shots on goal – Seattle 8-11-5-2 26, Prince George 5-13-11-3 32. Goalies – Seattle, Ross 32 shots-30 saves (19-19-3-4); Prince George, Gauthier 26-25 (13-24-3-4). Power plays – Seattle 1-2; Prince George 1-3. Referees – Kevin Bennett, Chris Crich. Linesmen – Kris Delany, Tim Plamondon.