2017 TELUS Cup

MASER SALVAGES DRAW FOR COUGARS WITH LATE GOAL

JASON LA ROSE

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – Tyler Maser scored his second goal of the game with 3:18 to go, earning the Cariboo Cougars a single point in a 3-3 tie with the Regina Pat Canadians on Tuesday night at the 2017 TELUS Cup.

With time ticking away, Maser knocked the puck from a Regina defenceman and snapped a quick shot that beat Pat Canadians netminder Dean McNabb on the glove side.

The Cougars erased a two-goal deficit after one period and climbed out of a one-goal hole in the third to avoid becoming the first host team to start 0-2 since the Charlottetown Islanders in 2006.

Devin Sutton had the other goal for Cariboo, which got 24 saves from Marcus Allen.

Harrison Blaisdell, Randen Schmidt and Tyler Lees scored for Regina, which is winless in its first two games for the first time in its nine trips to Canada’s National Midget Championship.

Penalty trouble doomed the Cougars in the first period; just two seconds after a four-minute double minor expired, Blaisdell corralled a bouncing puck and beat Allen for the 1-0 goal at 6:42.

Schmidt made it 2-0 at 9:18 on the power play, hammering a slap shot to the short-side on Allen.

But Cariboo answered on its first opportunity with the man advantage, with Maser beating McNabb with a one-timer less than four minutes into the second period.

Sutton tied the game just 68 seconds later, redirecting a point shot by twin brother Jarin past McNabb to ignite the hometown crowd at the CN Centre,

The teams paraded to the penalty box in the middle frame, combining for 40 minutes in penalties in the period; in total, the officials handed out 58 minutes, resulting in 10 power plays.

The Pat Canadians wasted no time retaking the lead in the third period thanks to Lees, who raced down the right wing and watched his centering pass bank off a Cariboo defender and past Allen to make it 3-2.

But Maser capped his three-point night late, leaving both teams with a point apiece.

Regina will see the ice first on Wednesday, taking on the Blizzard du Séminaire Saint-François in a battle of two of the winningest teams in tournament history (4 p.m. PT), before the Cougars face the unbeaten Cape Breton West Islanders (7:30 p.m. PT).