Cougars’ season ends in double overtime
It’s all over for the Prince George Cougars.
Josh Davies ended the Cats’ terrific season 5:40 into double overtime with a gut-wrenching shot from 40 feet out, sending the Portland Winterhawks to the WHL championship series with a 2-1 victory in Game 6 of the Western Conference championship Monday at CN Centre.
The longest game in Prince George’s 30-year WHL history ended in sudden death, and it came seconds after Borya Valis’s close-range shot at immortality at the other end of the rink was blocked by Portland defenceman Tyson Jugnauth. The puck skipped to Josh Mori, who fed it up to Davies and he wired a low slapshot into the far corner behind Joshua Ravensbergen.
“They got a couple good chances in our end and we got a good block, Josh Mori made a nice play and I joined the rush and after that I kind of blacked out,” said Davies. “I saw the puck go in the net and the rest is history.
“Our team was ready for big moments like this, this is what we grinded out all year for. Now that the moment has come, we couldn’t be happier. We’re in the dance now and we’re ready to go.”
The Winterhawks will now await the winner of the Saskatoon Blades-Moose Jaw Warriors series to determine who they will be playing in the next round.
Davies, a Florida Panthers draft pick in 2022, missed four games of the series with an injury and his return to the lineup after being sidelined in Game 1 came just in time for the ‘Hawks.
Both teams had glorious chances to end it in the first overtime period.
Portland failed to convert a 3-on-1 chance just before the three-minute mark when Ravensbergen stuffed the shot from Diego Buttazzoni. Thirteen minutes into overtime ‘Hawks captain Gabe Klassen got the puck in deep and tried to tuck it between the goalie’s legs but Ravensbergen somehow came up with the stop.
The Winterhawks took a penalty 8:20 into overtime and came out of it unscathed, holding the P.G. power play without a shot. The Cougars buzzed the net numerous times with great looks but came up empty trying to put one past Spunar.
The opening goal of the game came with a minute left in the second period but nobody knew that for certain until after the clock had run out. The goal, from Winterhawks exquisite playmaker Nate Danielson, came as a result of a close-in shot that crossed the line and was instantly cleared by Cougars defenceman Hudson Thornton as the Portland players briefly celebrated. The play continued and the period ended with Thornton bouncing a high shot that nearly found the back of the Portland net behind Jan Spunar.
The Cougar coaching staff was already heading into the locker room when video goal judge Lance Van Helvoirt confirmed Danielson’s shot had indeed crossed the goal line. He got on the phone with referee Bobby Jo Love to tell him it was a good goal, giving the Hawks a 1-0 lead to take into the second intermission.
It didn’t take long for the Cougars to tie it up.
Zac Funk gained the puck behind the goal line and pushed it over to Riley Heidt, who wasted no time dumping it out into the slot for Valis, who blasted it in for his ninth of the playoffs, much to the delight of Cougar fans in a sellout crowd of 6,016 who leapt to their feet with an ear-splitting roar.
Both teams had their chances gunning for the go-ahead goal. Mori joined the rush and Ravensbergen kicked out a dangerous-looking shot just before the Cougars went on the power play midway through the third period. The puck was in the Portland zone for most of that two-minute session but they couldn’t beat Spunar.
With less than two minutes left in regulation time Chase Pauls made a nice play with his glove at the blueline to knock down a Portland clearing attempt and his shot deflected off Ondrej Becher in the slot and just missed the net high.
Winterhawks head coach and general manager Mike Johnston noted that while the series produced a few lopsided scores, he thought all six games reflected how close the two teams were. The Cougars finished just one point ahead of Portland atop the Western Conference standings and both teams raised their game in the series to an amazing level that produced highly-entertaining hockey that impressed everyone in the building.
“I know there was some games where there was a spread on the score and it looked like one team was maybe winning it easier, but I don’t think through the whole series there was more than a one-goal difference between the teams,” said Johnston. “Both teams played outstanding in the series. Both teams have a core of really good players and both play a style that up-tempo and fast as you saw tonight.
“I’ve been on the other side with a good team like P.G. had and you’re home trying to squeeze it out and you miss it. We were fortunate, You got to get a bounce and we got a bounce. It was a big character win for us because we were down a few players. Playing a series without (Luca) Cagnoni, our top-minute defenceman, was a big loss for us but they lost (Terik) Parascak, a really key player for them.”