The Prince George Cougars defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-1 March 12 at the ShoWare Center.
The T-Birds remain alive in a tight four-way playoff race with Kamloops, Everett and Prince George fighting for spots seven and eight in the Western Conference.
Currently, the Prince George Cougars have 66 points in 69 games. The Everett Silvertips have 65 points in 69 games. The Kamloops Blazers have 63 points in 70 games and the Seattle Thunderbirds have 61 points in 68 games.
The Cougars put the first mark on the scoreboard at 7:18 of the first period. Brett Connolly scored, assisted by Martin Marincin and James Dobrowolski on the power play.
Prince George outshot Seattle 14-4 through the first 20 minutes.
Tyler Alos scored the T-Birds first goal of the night at 10:29 of the second period. Just after a T-Birds power play had expired, Brendan Rouse drove into Prince George territory, made a drop pass to Alos, who wristed the goal top shelf. Dave Sutter also assisted on the goal.
The T-Birds outshot the Cougars 10-7 during the second period, but still were down in the overall shot total to 21-14 through 40 minutes.
The Prince George Cougars sealed the victory during a 6:43 span in the third period.
Spencer Asuchak scored the eventual game winner for the Cougars at 11:02, assisted by Sena Acolatse and Brock Hirsche to make it 2-1. Taylor Makin scored next, assisted by Charles Inglis and Shane Philling at 13:11. Taylor Stefishen made it 4-1 at 14:58, assisted by Brett Connolly. Finally, Hirsche scored an unassisted empty-net goal to make it 5-1 Prince George at 17:45.
Prince George outshot Seattle 14-9 in the third period, leaving them with a 35-23 shot advantage at the end of regulation.
Seattle goalie Calvin Pickard (25-31-3-5) made 18 saves on 22 shots in the loss.
Prince George goalie Ty Rimmer (17-21-0-2) made 34 saves on 35 shots in the win.
The T-Birds will travel to Kelowna Wednesday, March 16, to take on the Rockets. They will move on to Spokane Friday, March 18, to face the Chiefs. The T-Birds will finish the season with a pair of games at home Saturday, March 19 against the Portland Winterhawks and Sunday, March 20 versus the Tri-City Americans.
SCORING SUMMARY
First period – 1, Prince George, Connolly 42 (Marincin, Dobrowolski), 7:18 (pp). Penalties – Jacobs, Sea (holding), 7:05. Lund, Sea (slashing), 14:55.
Second period – 1, Seattle, Alos 5 (Rouse, Sutter) 10:29. Penalties – Carlson, P.G. (hooking), 3:49. Carlson, P.G. (tripping), 8:24. Makin, P.G. (holding), 11:27. Inglis, P.G. (hooking), 15:22. Elliot, Sea (tripping), 17:50.
Third period – 3, Prince George, Asuchak 17 (Acolatse, Hirsche), 11:02. 4, Prince George, Makin 6 (Inglis, Pilling), 13:11. 5, Prince George, Stefishen 23 (Connolly), 14:58. 6, Prince George, Hirsche 8 (unassisted), 17:45 (en). Penalties – No penalties.
Shots on goal – Seattle 4-10-9 23. Prince George 14-7-14 35. Goalies – Seattle, Pickard 22 shots-18 saves (25-31-3-5); Prince George, Rimmer 35-34 (17-21-0-2). Power plays – Seattle 0-4; Prince George 1-3. A – 4,025. Referee – Pat Smith, Jason Nissen. Linesmen – Zach Brooks, Chris Sweeting.
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