The Portland Winterhawks began their 2025-2026 season this Friday night, with a 6-1 loss against the Prince George Cougars. The Winterhawks finished last season in 5th place in the Western Conference, but advanced all the way to the Conference Finals in the postseason. Prince George was eliminated in the first round of last year’s playoffs by the Winterhawks in Game 7. However, both teams entered Friday’s contest with massive roster changes. For Portland, veteran players such as Tyson Jugnauth, Kyle Chyzowski, and Ryder Thompson all aged out after last year. Similarly, Prince George lost skaters like Koehn Ziemmer, Riley Heidt, and Borya Valis. Both teams also saw players transition over to the collegiate scene, but a new season brings new opportunities for players to make a name for themselves.
The CN Centre was packed, as it was the home season opener for the Prince George Cougars. The first goal of the game came just 1:17 into the action. Receiving a pass from the corner, Kayden Lemire would fire a quick shot on target from just inside the faceoff circle. Portland goaltender Ondrej Štěbeták, would make the leg pad save, but the rebound would be scooped up by Prince George’s Brock Souch. Souch would gather the puck along the boards, skate towards the top of the zone, and wrist a shot as he circled towards the center. The puck would beat Štěbeták high glove side, and sneak under the crossbar to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
The Winterhawks would answer with 6:32 remaining in the opening period. Ryan Miller would split the gap between Cougars skaters at the defensive blue line, creating a 2-on-1 rush through the neutral zone. As Miller stayed to the right side of the ice, rookie Sam Spehar raced up the middle and positioned himself for a potential one timer. No pass was required though, as Miller would rifle a wrist shot past the right blocker of Prince George goaltender, Alexander Levshyn. The puck would strike the back of the net, and Ryan Miller would score the first goal of the new Winterhawks season.
The game would not stay tied at 1-1 for long though, as Prince George would go on the power-play just one minute later. A deke from the boards would free up space for Brock Souch in the right hand faceoff circle. With his momentum taking him towards the goal line, Souch would look to pass the puck to the front of the net. Kayden Lemire was planted at the top of the crease for the Cougars, but was guarded by Winterhawks defenseman Griffin Darby. However, with Darby’s stick stretched out to block a pass to the high slot, Souch was able to flip a pass behind Darby to Lemire’s stick. Lemire wasted no time getting the puck on net, as his shot lofted onto Štěbeták. The puck would bounce off Štěbeták’s shoulder, and fall into the goal, giving Prince George a 2-1 lead.
Then, with 4:31 remaining in the period, the Cougars would find their third goal of the night. The Winterhawks would try and push the puck up the boards, in an attempt to clear the zone. However, Kooper Gizowski intercepted the puck, and would move towards the faceoff dot. With Carsyn Dyck lunging towards him, Gizowski would send a wrist shot high glove side on Štěbeták. With traffic in front, Štěbeták wouldn’t be able to track the puck until it whipped over his shoulder, and Gizowski would score his first goal as a Prince George Cougar. Gizowski’s goal would be the last of the period, and the Winterhawks would head into the break trailing 3-1.
After a scoreless second period, the Cougars power-play would get back on the board in period 3. With quick passing, the Cougars worked the puck up to the point for Eli Johnson. Johnson would skate in and draw the defense towards the middle of the zone, then pass the puck to the top of the faceoff circle. Waiting for the pass with a one-timer shot was Bauer Dumanski. Dumanski’s slap shot would be saved by Štěbeták, but the rebound would fall right to the stick of Riley Ashe. Ashe would slide the puck under the leg of a recovering Štěbeták, giving the Cougars a 4-1 lead with 8:04 left in regulation.
Then just ten seconds after Ashe’s goal, Prince George would strike again. After an odd ricochet, Štěbeták would be unable to play the puck behind his net. As Štěbeták retreated back to his goal, Kooper Gizowski would race into the zone and beat Portland’s defense to the loose puck. From there, Gizowski would hold the puck, and spot Jett Lajoie coming down into the slot. Gizowski would feed Lajoie the puck, and Lajoie would instantly fire a shot on goal. On its way to the net, the puck would hit Kyle McDonough, and deflect back towards the near post. Štěbeták wouldn’t be able to react in time to the change in direction, and the Cougars would jump out to a 5-1 lead.
Unfortunately for Portland, Prince George’s offense was not done. With 4:41 remaining in the third, Kooper Gizowski would get the puck down low and bank a pass back to the point for Bauer Dumanski. Dumanski would send a shot towards the net, and the puck would slide wide of the near post. However, the puck would kick out off the boards and go above goal line extended towards the far post. Jett Lajoie then tracked the puck down, and wristed a shot back on Štěbeták. The puck then knuckled off Štěbeták’s side, and fell into the back of the net. Lajoie’s second goal of the night would be the final one of the game, and the Cougars would win 6-1.
Portland then fell 7-2 in the team’s second game of the season, but will look to bounce back on Sunday at Everett at 4:05 p.m.
Northwest Sports Desk 