Vancouver Giants suffered their fourth loss in a row Tuesday night in Prince George, falling 5-3 to the Cougars.
Giants Justin Lies, Cole Shepard and Ty Halaburda all found the back of the net, while Giants netminder Will Gurski stopped 23 of the Cougars 28 shots.
For the Cougars, it marked their third straight win.
Cougars opened the scoring at 7:42 of the first period when defenceman Hudson Thornton pinched from the left point and wired home his fifth goal of the season. Liekit Reichle and Fischer O’Brien both assisted.
Justin Lies answered for the Giants just 54 seconds later off a one-timer from the slot. Ty Halaburda started the play when he won a puck free along the boards before finding Lies alone in front. For Lies, it was his third of the season.
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Jonny Hooker restored the Cougar lead on the waning seconds of a power play at 13:45 of the second period. Hooker’s initial wrap-around attempt hit the left post, but seconds later he found the loose puck and wired it home for his team-leading eighth.
Blake Eastman extended the Cougar lead to 3-1 at 17:38 when he pounced on a Bauer Dumanski point-shot rebound and tucked it home from in close.
Just 50 seconds into the final period, Cole Shepard moved the G-Men back within one when he slid a low shot past Taylor Gauthier from the right wing. Zack Ostapchuk and Alex Cotton both drew the helpers on Shepard’s first goal since February of 2020.
HOW GOOD IS THIS!
— The WHL (@TheWHL) December 15, 2021
Cole Shepard's first goal since February of 2020 has the @WHLGiants within one! pic.twitter.com/jmsy1VEVKo
The two-goal lead for Prince George was restored at 7:07 when Koehn Ziemmer slid a forehand deke past the left pad of Will Gurski off a three-on-one rush. Craig Armstrong and Connor Bowie both factored in on his fifth of the season.
Blake Eastman provided the eventual insurance goal for the Cougars off an unassisted backhand effort at 16:19. For Eastman it marked his sixth goal of the season and his second of the game.
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The final Giants goal of the night came off a one-timer from Ty Halaburda. Kyle Bochek and Alex Cotton helped set up Halaburda’s goal from the high slot.
Lies was named third star of the game.
Since returning to the Giants lineup three games ago, Justin Lies has recorded three points (2G, 1A) during a three-game point streak.
With two points, rookie forward Halaburda notched his third multi-point game of the season.
Next up, a rematch with Prince George tonight (Wednesday, Dec. 15) at 7 p.m. at the CN Centre.
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