“It was just a complete breakdown” Cougars blow third period lead to lose to Giants

They say a two-goal lead is the worst lead in hockey, and after Wednesday night, the Prince George Cougars would probably agree with that sentiment.

The Cougars held a 3-1 lead in the third period, but the Vancouver Giants scored four straight in the final frame to earn the 5-3 win.

“There was a real lapse there, we didn’t manage the puck, didn’t get it out, a couple turnovers,” said Cougars Head Coach and GM Mark Lamb on the post game show on 94.3 the Goat. “We were going downhill, we had a real good game going, and then just mental lapses killed us.”

Three of the Giants’ goals came in a span of a minute and 21 seconds, silencing the 2,865 fans at the CN Centre.

The @WHLGiants pull off an immaculate comeback scoring three goals in less than two minutes! 🤯 https://t.co/scdsuYTe3D

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) October 22, 2026

“We got some youngness out there that’s got to learn to go through these games, you’ve got to make some mistakes, but then we have some guys, we have some veterans out there that are doing that same thing in that little bit of a stretch there,” Lamb said. “It’s a real learning experience.”

Lamb said there were plenty of positives for his group prior to the three goals in the third, with his team allowing just two shots in the second period.

“It’s about doing the right things, there wasn’t any outnumbered rushes or anything, I thought we were playing a real strong team game, and then we just broke down,” Lamb said. “It’s just the guys that are out there, the veterans, they’ve got to take charge in a game like that, got to do the right things, and it was just a complete breakdown.”

The Giants jumped out to a quick start, keeping most of the action in the Prince George zone for the first handful of minutes.

The action picked up when Ethan Armstrong crosschecked a Cougar making a line change into the boards, which would have put the Cats on the powerplay. However, Cougars Captain Corbin Vaughan took exception to the hit, and dropped the gloves with Armstrong. Vaughan was assessed a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike on the play, negating the powerplay opportunity for the Cougars.

Even without the extra attacker, Vaughan’s tilt gave the Cougars some jump in their step, leading to Cole Hajt breaking the ice 5:55 into the opening period.

Reached a new Hajt! 🤩

Cole Hajt scores his first of the season and gets the @PGCougars on the board first. https://t.co/NHbRrgSdhf

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) October 22, 2026

The Giants pushed back and found the back of the net with 1:17 to go in the opening period, as Blake Chorney slapped home a rebound that came off the pad of Peyton Shore.

Tre Peck scored his fifth of the young season to put the Cougars back on top 9:08 into the second period, perfectly placing a wrist shot after taking a nifty tap feed from Townes Kozicky in the slot.

Tre Peck RIPS home his fifth of the season! Cougs on top!

@CarlsJrCA https://t.co/R8RDe3R5Q1

— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) October 22, 2026

Peck scored again 7:50 into the third period, when he was on the receiving end of a beautiful pass into the slot from newly signed Jonathan Bitonti.

A little under three minutes later, Chorney kickstarted the Giants’ three goal swing in the third period with his second of the night. Just 17 seconds later, Chorney picked up an assist on Tobias Tomik’s goal that tied the game at 3-3 with 9:00 minutes to go. Jakob Oreskovic put the Giants on top 64 seconds later.

With 14 seconds to go, Cam Parr put the cherry on top with an empty net marker to solidify the 5-3 win for the Giants.

The box score is here.

The Cougars (3-5-0-1) are 11th in the WHL’s Western Conference.

The WHL standings are here.

The Cougars home stand continues Friday with the start of Community Heroes Weekend against the Tri-City Americans. This weekend will also feature the team’s first Mega 50/50 jackpot of the season, which will be drawn Saturday.

The full Cougars schedule is here.