The Saskatoon Blades rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to defeat the Prince George Cougars 5-4 in overtime Tuesday at CN Centre.
A Cougars goal in the first half of the third period put the Blades down 4-2, but back-to-back goals by the Blades in the next 2:02 changed the narrative. Things turned around with 20-year-old forward Brandon Lisowsky’s first of two goals in the contest, followed by forward Lukas Hansen’s first of the season. Lisowsky finished the night with two goals and an assist, including the game-winning goal in overtime. The 5-foot-9 winger is red-hot on his nine-game point streak with eight goals and nine assists.
Nearly 100 people from nearby McBride, BC came to watch hometown boy Tanner Molendyk record two assists in the win. The Nashville Predators prospect has points in five straight, tallying one goal and six assists in that span. Molendyk’s up to three goals and 11 assists in ten games this season.
Plenty of family of Fort St. John, BC native Evan Gardner witnessed the Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick collect the win after a 31-save performance between the pipes. The 18-year-old netminder improved to 7-3-1-0 in his sophomore WHL season.
Saskatoon opened the scoring early thanks to the team’s leading scorer Ben Riche with his tenth goal of the season. The Bethune, SK product finished a pretty give-and-go off a pass from Lisowsky to extend both their point streaks to nine games. Riche has six goals and nine assists during his streak and 25 points (10G, 15A) in 16 games this season.
Where the Cougars thrived over the Blades in the opening 20 minutes was the powerplay. Saskatoon couldn’t cash in on their lone chance of the frame, while the Cougars tied the game on one of their own. Los Angeles Kings prospect Koehn Ziemmer scored his 11th goal in as many games this season with 5:10 to play. The 20-year-old forward’s 17th point of the year tied the game 1-1 heading into first intermission.
Ziemmer added his second of the night under two minutes into the middle frame to make it 2-1 Prince George.
Just under halfway through the game, Washington Capitals prospect Terik Parascak made it 3-1 Cougars with his tenth of the season. The sophomore forward was the beneficiary of a beautiful move made by Minnesota Wild prospect Riley Heidt through the neutral zone.
The Cougars were running away with momentum, until a Bauer Dumanski tripping penalty put the Blades on the powerplay less than a minute after Parascak’s goal.
Blades alternate captain Tyler Parr showcased his shot with a beam from the point to bring the Blades within one. The La Salle, MB native has goals in five straight games, and six points (5G, 1A) on his current streak. The Blades had momentum back heading into a critical third period, searching for their first win of the BC trip.
The Cougars’ leading scorer Borya Valis made it 4-2 Cougars just over seven minutes into the third. The former Regina Pat has eight goals and 17 assists in his graduating WHL season.
Lisowsky and Hansen tied the game within the next couple of minutes to put the Cougars on their heels. 60 minutes wasn’t enough to decide Tuesday’s CHL featured game, sending the Blades to overtime for the second straight game.
Lisowsky stripped the Cougars of the puck and bolted up the ice in the extra frame. The former Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick buried his eighth goal of the year two minutes into overtime to secure the Blades first win on the their five-game BC road trip. Saskatoon has two games remaining on the trip, sitting at a 1-1-0-1 record, netting a three of a possible six points so far.
The Blades head back down to the lower mainland for a tilt Friday against the Kelowna Rockets at Prospera Place. Puck drop is 9:00 p.m.
