When the Prince George Cougars acquired Drew Owsley from the Tri City Americans, they wanted a goaltender who could not just win games, but steal them. It’s safe to say that Drew Owsley’s Prince George debut was a success. Owsley stopped all 32 shots he faced and Charles Inglis had the games lone goal in a 1-0 Prince George victory in Kamloops.
The Cougars and Blazers were tied at zero after one. Kamloops carried the play in the early stages, but Owsley rose to the occasion and made some big stops early. The Cougars had the best chance to score in the first period, but Kamloops goaltender Cam lanigan made a fine save off Greg Fraser mid-way through the first period. After one period Kamloops was outshooting Prince George 10-8.
Early in the second, the Kamloops Blazers went on a series of power-plays, but Drew Owsley once again stood his ground, and made some big saves. The biggest save of all came off Colin Smith during the fifth Kamloops powerplay of the game.
Late in the second period, the Cougars were given a powerplay, but were unable to take advantage. With less than 10 seconds left in the period, Cody Carlson sent a long-lead pass up the ice to Charles Inglis. Inglis skated across the blueline and wired a wrist-shot past Cam Lanigan to give Prince George the 1-0 lead. Inglis’ goal came with only .8 seconds left in the second stanza. Kamloops held a 24-16 shot advantage after two periods.
The Cougars settled their game down in the third period, and played sound defensively. Cody Carlson blocked a ton of shots throughout the game, but really stepped up in the third period.
The Blazers pulled their goalie in the final minute, but Drew Owsley continued to do his thing, and the Cougars continued to block shots.
Kamloops had one final chance, but Austin Madaisky’s point-shot was blocked and cleared and the time expired.
Prince George outshot Kamloops 9-8 in the third period, but were outshot 32-25 overall. The Cats finished 0-5 on the powerplay while Kamloops finished 0-7.
After the game, Cougars Head Coach Dean Clark praised the efforts of Owsley, and also specifically highlighted the play of Dan Gibb and Cody Carlson on the back-end.
The victory gives Prince George a 1-0 record, and some added confidence heading into another full week of practice. The Cougars will welcome the Victoria Royals to CN Centre on Friday, September 30th for their home opener. Puck drop is at 7:00 PM.
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I definitely have some personal thoughts that I'd like to share following my first ever WHL broadcast, but I am going to wait until later to post my thoughts. Right now it's 5 AM and it's time to catch some shut-eye.
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