It’s all over for the Prince George Cougars.
Josh Davies ended the Cats’ terrific season 5:40 into double overtime with a gut-wrenching shot from 30 feet out, sending the Portland Winterhawks to the WHL championship series with a 2-1 victory in Game 6 of the Western Conference championship Monday at CN Centre.
The longest game in Prince George’s 30-year WHL history ended in sudden death, and it came seconds after Borya Valis’s close-range shot at immortality at the other end of the rink was blocked by Portland defenceman Tyson Jugnauth. The puck skipped to Josh Mori, who fed it up to Davies and he wired a low wrist shot into the far corner behind Joshua Ravensbergen.
“They got a couple good chances in our end and we got a good block, Josh Mori made a nice play and I joined the rush and after that I kind of blacked out,” said Davies. “I saw the puck go in the net and the rest is history.
“Our team was ready for big moments like this, this is what we grinded out all year for. Now that the moment has come, we couldn’t be happier. We’re in the dance now and we’re ready to go.”
The Winterhawks will now await the winner of the Saskatoon Blades-Moose Jaw Warriors series to determine who they will be playing in the next round.
Davies, a Florida Panthers draft pick in 2022, missed four games of the series with an injury and his return to the lineup after being sidelined in Game 1 came just in time for the ‘Hawks.
Both teams had glorious chances to end it in the first overtime period.
Portland failed to convert a 3-on-1 chance just before the three-minute mark when Ravensbergen stuffed the shot from Diego Buttazzoni. Thirteen minutes into overtime ‘Hawks captain Gabe Klassen got the puck in deep and tried to tuck it between the goalie’s legs but Ravensbergen somehow came up with the stop.
The Winterhawks took a penalty 8:20 into overtime and came out of it unscathed, holding the P.G. power play without a shot. The Cougars buzzed the net numerous times with great looks but came up empty trying to put one past Spunar.
The opening goal of the game came with a minute left in the second period but nobody knew that for certain until after the clock had run out. The goal, from Winterhawks exquisite playmaker Nate Danielson, came as a result of a close-in shot that crossed the line and was instantly cleared by Cougars defenceman Hudson Thornton as the Portland players briefly celebrated. The play continued and the period ended with Thornton bouncing a high shot that nearly found the back of the Portland net behind Jan Spunar.
The Cougar coaching staff was already heading into the locker room when video goal judge Lance Van Helvoirt confirmed Danielson’s shot had indeed crossed the goal line. He got on the phone with referee Bobby Jo Love to tell him it was a good goal, giving the Hawks a 1-0 lead to take into the second intermission.
It didn’t take long for the Cougars to tie it up.
Zac Funk gained the puck behind the goal line and pushed it over to Riley Heidt, who wasted no time dumping it out into the slot for Valis, who blasted it in for his ninth of the playoffs, much to the delight of Cougar fans in a sellout crowd of 6,016 who leapt to their feet with an ear-splitting roar.
Both teams had their chances gunning for the go-ahead goal. Mori joined the rush and Ravensbergen kicked out a dangerous-looking shot just before the Cougars went on the power play midway through the third period. The puck was in the Portland zone for most of that two-minute session but they couldn’t beat Spunar.
With less than two minutes left in regulation time Chase Pauls made a nice play with his glove at the blueline to knock down a Portland clearing attempt and his shot deflected off Ondrej Becher in the slot and just missed the net high.
Winterhawks head coach and general manager Mike Johnston noted that while the series produced a few lopsided scores, he thought all six games reflected how close the two teams were. The Cougars finished just one point ahead of Portland atop the Western Conference standings and both teams raised their game in the series to an amazing level that produced highly-entertaining hockey that impressed everyone in the building.
“I know there was some games where there was a spread on the score and it looked like one team was maybe winning it easier, but I don’t think through the whole series there was more than a one-goal difference between the teams,” said Johnston. “Both teams played outstanding in the series. Both teams have a core of really good players and both play a style that up-tempo and fast as you saw tonight.
“I’ve been on the other side with a good team like P.G. had and you’re home trying to squeeze it out and you miss it. We were fortunate, You got to get a bounce and we got a bounce. It was a big character win for us because we were down a few players. Playing a series without (Luca) Cagnoni, our top-minute defenceman, was a big loss for us but they lost (Terik) Parascak, a really key player for them.”
The Winterhawks were eliminated in the second round in the previous two playoff years and Johnston said the core of his team learned from that and used it to overcome their adversity this season.
“Now we pushed through the third round, it’s hard in playoffs,” he said. “Getting that experience, with P.G. having a lot of returning players, they’ve got to be one of the favourites heading into next year.”
If that is the case, Cougar overagers Funk, Thornton and Pauls won’t be there to see it, having now played their last junior hockey game.
“I’m almost speechless, it’s such a tough feeling, honestly,” said Thornton, the Cougar captain, after spending about half an hour after the game in the room with his teammates. "We’ve been through so much this year as a group and we’ve come so far and this city deserves so much.
“We try to give our best every single night and at the end of this you wanted to give them a championship and obviously we didn’t do that so it’s pretty disappointing. Overall we had a tremendous season and the group that we have is so special, we’re brothers for life.”
The Cougars established franchise records for wins and points and finished the season as the No. 1 ranked team in Canada. They truly believed they had what it took to go all the way.
“That’s what’s so disappointing, and the guys really feel it, we didn’t think we were going to lose,” said Cougars head coach and general manager Mark Lamb. “It was a really good year when you get by the disappointment, which I can’t get by right now, yet. When I look back in a couple days and reflect on it, it will be a lot better but it really hurts right now.
“Winning is so, so hard and the guys really got a feeling of it tonight. They played so well, bit they will learn. Portland is a winning organization and they have been for a few years now and we look at that and that’s where we’re at now. We’re turning into one of those organizations .”
Spunar picked up his 12th win in 14 playoff starts and looked unbeatable at times, as did Cougar goalie Josh Ravensbergen, and they put on a classic goaltending clinic with both teams testing them relentlessly. The Cougars outshot Portland 49-38.
Just as they did in their two wins in the series in Portland, the Winterhawks got off to a great start and the 17-year-old rookie Ravensbergen was the reason they were not be down by a goal or two after the opening period.
Led by Danielson, the WHL’s player of the week, who came into Monday’s game with a goal and nine assists in the series, the ‘Hawks forced the Cougar goalie to make three saves in the opening minute.
The Cougars finally got their offence untracked on a four-minute power play that came 4:17 in when Davies took exception to Nick McLennan’s crushing hit that knocked Ryan Miller off his feet and into the boards and was served a double roughing penalty.
The penalty came seconds after Davies was denied by spectacular glove stop from Ravensbergen off the rush on a feed into the slot from Miller. With Davies in the box, came close a couple times but the 19-year-old Czechian goalie was locked in on the task at hand.
Portland came out guns-a-blazing in the second period and severely tested Ravensbergen at least three times in the first five minutes, including a glove stop to deny Kyle Chyzowski on a 2-on-1 setup and keep the game scoreless.
Inspired by their goalie’s heroic efforts, the Cougars were finally able to deliver sustained pressure for the first time since their extended power play in the first period. The Funk-Heidt-Valis line delivered a dominant shift and threw everything but the kitchen sink at Spunar, and he had to come up with three huge saves.
The Eastern Conference final resumes with Game 7 Tuesday night in Saskatoon. Four of the six games in the series have required overtime.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Cougars’ previous longest game happened April 10, 1997, in Game 1 of the Western final in Seattle. Peter Roed ended it for the Cougars 1:59 into the second overtime. The Thunderbirds went on to win that third-round series in six games … The Winterhawks will board an Air Canada charter for the flight back to Portland Tuesday morning … Cats forward Hunter Laing was named the WHL’s rookie of the week. The 17-year-old Kelowna native scored his first career WHL playoff goal in Game 5 in Portland. He is ranked 86th on NHL Central Scouting’s final draft list …. The WHL U.S. Priority Draft will go ahead on Wednesday and on Thursday the league will have its Prospects Draft. The Regina Pats have the first pick in the U.S. draft, while the Everett Silvertips will get to pick first in the Prospects Draft, a result of the Joel Hofer trade the Silvertips made with Kamloops at the deadline last year …. The Cougars pick 21st out of 22 in the Prospects Draft and hold the 21st and 43rd choices when the league selects draft-eligible Americans ... Former Cougar captain Brett Connolly is back visiting his former hometown and brought his young son to the game from their home in Toronto. The 32-year-old longtime NHL’er, who won the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018, just finished his second season playing in Switzerland.
WHL Western Conference final
Prince George Cougars vs. Portland Winterhawks
(Winterhawks win best-of-seven series 4-2)
Game 6
Monday summary
Winterhawks 2 at Cougars 1
First Period
No scoring
Penalties – Davies Por (double roughing) 4:17, Shtrom PG (holding) 10:29.
Second Period
1. Portland, Danielson 5 (O’Brien) 19:00
Penalties – None
Third Period
2. Prince George, Valis 9 (Heidt, Funk) 5:45
Penalty – Davies Por (tripping) 10:39
First Overtime
Penalty – Chyzowski Por (tripping) 8:20.
Second Overtime
3. Portland, Davies 5 (Mori) 5:40
Penalties - None
Shots on goal by
Portland 12 10 6 7 3 -38
Prince George 10 14 11 9 3 -49
Goal – Portland, Spunar (W,12-2); Prince George, Ravensbergen (L,10-3).
Power plays – Por: 0-1; PG: 0-4.
Referees - Adam Blosky, Bobby Jo Love; Linesmen – Dustin Minty, Nick Albinati.
Attendance – 6,016.
Scratches – Portland: F Braeden Jockims (healthy), G Nick Avakian (healthy), D Luca Cagnoni (injured), Alex Thompson (healthy); Prince George: F Terik Parascak (injured), D Drew Petetson (healthy, F Lee Shurgot (healthy), G Brady Holtvogt (healthy), F Patrick Sopiarz (healthy), F Evan Groening (healthy), D Carson Carels (healthy), F Arjun Bawa (healthy), F Kaden Lemire (healthy).
