Tri-City once again got behind the eight ball early and could not recover in the end, even after a late push, falling 3-2. Crew Martinson would pick up his first career goal in the process, and Ryan Grout made 33 saves.
1st Period
Coming into the night, Prince George had outscored opponents 8–2 in first periods this season. Combined with Tri-City’s tendency for slow starts, the Americans would need to be sharp early to keep pace with the Cougars.
After a scrum in front of the net, Tri-City went shorthanded when Charlie Elick was called for roughing—giving the WHL’s fifth-best power play an early opportunity to go to work.
The Cougars capitalized quickly. At 4:02, Terik Parascak opened the scoring on the man advantage. From the left wing, Brock Souch fired a cross-ice pass to Kooper Gizowski, who threaded it to Parascak unmarked on the backdoor. Parascak jammed it in for the 1–0 lead.
Prince George’s hot start continued less than ten seconds later. Aiden Foster doubled the lead after recovering a loose puck along the boards. Kayden Lemire fed Foster in the left circle, and Foster hammered a one-timer past the glove of Ryan Grout to make it 2–0.
By the five-minute mark, the Cougars had built a 2–0 advantage and were outshooting Tri-City 10–0—an early nightmare for the Americans, whose first-period struggles persisted.
It took Tri-City nearly ten minutes to record their first shot on goal—a wraparound attempt turned aside by goaltender Alexander Levshyn.
The Americans earned their first power play after Ismail Abogouche was tripped by Patrick Sopiarz, generating their first real scoring look. Though they couldn’t convert, Tri-City began to find some rhythm.
Right after the penalty expired, Jakub Vanecek fired wide from the high slot. The puck caromed off the boards to Jake Gudelj beside the net, who fired from a sharp angle, but Levshyn made a spectacular diving save—likely a WHL “Save of the Night” candidate.
Tri-City settled in for the rest of the period, but after 20 minutes, Prince George led 2–0 and led 17–6 in shots. The Cougars went 1-for-1 on the power play; Tri-City was 0-for-1.
2nd Period
Thirty seconds into the middle frame, Charlie Elick tried to spark his team by dropping the gloves with Kayden Lemire in a heavyweight tilt. Lemire landed a few punches before the officials stepped in.
At 6:00, Tri-City finally broke through following a turnover by Parascak. The puck slid into the slot, where Savin Virk fired a shot off the crossbar. The rebound found Cruz Pavao, who nudged it back to Virk near the crease. Virk quickly tapped it back to Pavao, and Pavao buried it to cut the deficit to 2–1.
At the midway point, defenseman Carson Carels nearly restored the Cougars’ two-goal cushion, ringing a wrist shot off the crossbar from the left circle.
Parascak made amends for his earlier mistake late in the second. Rookie defenseman David Byrne mishandled a pass along the boards, allowing Parascak to steal it and break free on a breakaway. With Byrne chasing close behind, Parascak slipped a shot five-hole on Grout to make it 3–1 Prince George.
Carels had another dangerous chance late but fired wide, sending Tri-City into the second intermission still down by two.
3rd Period
Tri-City saved its best hockey for the third, pressing hard to claw back into the game.
Early in the period, Crew Martinson scored his first career WHL goal, according to the WHL Website, to bring the Americans within one. Alexander Laing carried the puck down the left wing and cut inside before snapping a shot off the post. The puck sat loose in the crease, and Martinson crashed the net to shovel it across the line.
The Americans earned a prime opportunity to tie it when Cougars captain Bauer Dumanski was called for holding, giving Tri-City its third power play of the night against the league’s top penalty kill.
However, Prince George’s penalty killers—led by Souch—were outstanding. Souch burned many valuable seconds by pinning the puck in Tri-City’s end, forcing four Americans to dig it free which took lots of time off the power play.
Tri-City continued to press, generating wave after wave of chances as the tying goal seemed inevitable. But Prince George weathered the storm, catching a break when Cash Koch was whistled for roughing late.
Grout kept the Americans close with two huge saves on the penalty kill, and with time winding down, Elick nearly tied it on a one-timer in the dying seconds—but Levshyn made another game-saving stop to seal a 3–2 Cougars win.
Post Game/What’s Next
Tri-City dropped to 1–5 as another sluggish start proved costly. The Americans were outshot 36–27, went 0-for-3 on the power play, and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.
Despite the loss, goaltender Ryan Grout turned in his best performance of the season, stopping 33 of 36 shots to keep his team in it throughout the contest.
According to the WHL’s official scoring, Crew Martinson recorded his first career goal, though replays suggested Alexander Laing’s initial shot may have crossed the line first. Either way, Laing has now registered points in back-to-back games for the first time and Martinson picked up his first career WHL Goal.
The Americans will look to rebound in Sunday’s matinee to close out the doubleheader against Prince George. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m.
