Cats cut down Giants in rematch

Taylor Gauthier set the tone for the Prince George Cougars when he gave Brad Morrison the cold shoulder. His breakaway save 1:15 into the game to rob the former Cougar playing in his old stomping grounds at CN Centre Saturday night was a sign of good things to come for the Cougars.

Gauthier made 22 saves as the Cougars went on to stomp the Giants 6-2.

I just wanted to give the guys a chance to win and I knew once we had that two-goal lead I could shut the door on that.

Jared Bethune had a goal and two assists and the Cougars also got goals from Aaron Boyd, Brogan O’Brien, Josh Curtis, Ethan O’Rourke and Joel Lakusta to help them end a five-game losing streak.

“Right from the drop of the puck I thought we were the better team out there,” said Gauthier. “We knew going into this it was pretty much a must-win game, it was a four-point game because they’re in our division so we made up some

— Taylor Gauthier

ground. We just have to come out like we did today every game.

“I just wanted to give the guys a chance to win and I knew once we had that two-goal lead I could shut the door on that. In the third period we did a great job coming out and having a defence-first mindset but also contributing on the offensive side of the puck as well.”

The Cougars scored three times in the third period to guarantee a split of the weekend series with the Giants. Bethune started it, scoring from the slot just 1:39 into the third. Curtis made it a 5-2 game, using his backhand side to bat in a puck Bethune shot that bounced high off the end boards. Lakusta capped the scoring when he took a pass from Vladislav Mikhalchuk, skated in unchecked, and got to his own rebound.

Lakusta, who also had an assist, had a standout game on the Cats’ blueline. He made smart plays to clear the zone and bodied Giant snipers away from the front of the net, leaving very few second or third shots for Gauthier.

“Going on a slide is hard for any team but especially when you have a young group of guys,” said the 19-year-old Lakusta. “Having all the guys come together and grind this one out after a couple losses, it was a pretty easy win because we just stuck to the system and ground it out and it’s nice to get this out of the way.

“Taylor bailed us out a couple times. We had a couple sloppy changes that led to breakaways and he stood on his head.”

— see MORRISON, page 10

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE Prince George Cougars forward Brogan O’Brien scores on a penalty shot against Vancouver Giants goaltender Todd Scott on Saturday night at CN Centre. The Cougars beat the Giants 6-2 after a 5-2 loss on Friday.

CITIZEN PHOTO BY JAMES DOYLE Chance Adrian of the Cougars cuts to the net after getting a step on Vancouver Giants defender Kaleb Bulych during Saturday’s game.