Gary Ahuja
Black Press
A turnover behind the Vancouver Giants net with less than five minutes to play was the difference.
Dawson Holt was taken down behind the goal and Colby McAuley fired a puck into the slot which Jared Bethune buried for this third of the game in a 7-6 victory for the Prince George Cougars.
The Cougars were playing the Giants at the Langley Events Centre on Tuesday night.
And the goal marked a wild final 40 minutes.
Prince George led 3-0 less than a dozen minutes into the game and 4-1 after 20 minutes. Vancouver tied the game at four in the middle frame with goals from Dylan Plouffe, Brendan Semchuk and Taden Rattie, only to surrender the lead in the final minute. The Giants thought they had tied the score with six seconds to go before intermission, but after a video review, it was ruled no goal.
Prince George would add a power-play goal five minutes into the third period before Jack Flaman and Radovan Bondra scored less than two minutes apart much to the delight of the 2,898 fans in attendance.
The Giants Alex Kannock-Leipert, who was called up with injuries along the blue-line had opened the scoring for Vancouver with his first Western Hockey League goal.
The Cougars also got goals from McAuley, to go along with his two assists, as well as a goal and two helpers from Justin Almeda and a goal and assist from Tate Olson, the defenceman who just returned from training camp with the Vancouver Canucks.
More to follow.
