LETHBRIDGE — It took seven goals against them for the Regina Cougars to muster up some offensive willpower, but four unanswered goals in the third were not enough to take down the Lethbridge Pronghorns, who complete the weekend sweep with a 7-5 win.
 
The Cougars played two goalies again this game: Curtis Meger, who let in 4 goals on 16 shots, and reliever Brandon Holtby, who saved 8 of 11 shots in his credited loss. Lethbridge starter Taz Burman allowed five past him in his winning 36-save performance.
 
Lethbridge continued their streak of strong first period showings with another early goal, this time less than two minutes into the game.
 
After making a nice save on Dalton Sward, Meger was unable to keep control of the rebound. Luke Coleman got control of the puck in front of Meger and fired it past the netminder on the far side for his first goal as a Pronghorn.
 
It took ten minutes to find their second, but with the puck behind the Cougars net, Ryan Chynoweth backhanded the puck to a trailing Josh Borynec, whose shot was saved by Meger and the rebound batted at by Kyle Gordon. Gordon's arced bunt at the crease was his first as a Pronghorn.
 
Just under three minutes later, Lethbridge would bury a third biscuit past Meger. Sward picked up his own shot's rebound, sending the puck clear through the crease to Coleman. Coleman cycled to Danny Gatenby who fired a wrist shot past a recovering Meger.
 
For the second time in as many nights, the Cougars pulled their starting netminder in favour of Brendan Holtby, this time after Meger allowed three goals on twelve shots.
 
Gatenby's first as a Pronghorn was his team's final tally of the period, going into the room up by three goals after twenty minutes.
 
Lethbridge's start to the second period was strong as well, scoring their first of the frame three and a half minutes in. Evan Wardley's cycled slapshot beat a screened Holtby after being deflected in front by Russ Maxwell.
 
Regina answered 12 seconds later with their team's first marker of the game, as a pass through the neutral zone found a streaking Tristan Frei, whose shot was saved by Burman. Frei would find his own rebound behind Burman, tucking it in for his first of the season.
 
The Pronghorns did pull further ahead after the halfway point of the game, with two more goals in the span of a minute. A cycle play on the powerplay saw Mike Clarke feed Gordon on the near side, as his slapshot found the twine behind a sliding Holtby. A disorganized Cougars defence saw a Michael Grant wrist shot deflected off the shin of Clayton Eisler in behind Holtby. The Pronghorns held a five-goal lead heading into the second intermission.
 
Teams would exchange goals early in the third, with Lethbridge's Chynoweth striking first on a two-on-one with Gordon, one-timing it past a sprawling Holtby. Regina would answer a couple minutes later as Connor Chaulk springs Tate Coughlin on a partial break, scoring from the half-boards on Burman for his team's second of the game.
 
After the Coughlin goal, Regina appeared to have gained some confidence, as they would close the lead further with two more unanswered goals before the halfway point of the period.
 
The Pronghorns lost the momentum of their own accord, breaking down defensively in their own end leading to the Tanner Campbell one-timer on an open Lethbridge net, and a turnover at their offensive blue line leading to Regina springing Duperreault on another partial break, firing it high glove-side on Burman.
 
Regina would push the Horns to the brink with a late goal 90 seconds remaining in the third. After taking a timeout and pulling Holtby for the extra man, Arthur Miller would feed Chaulk to deke out Burman for the Cougars fourth in the frame.
 
Regina could not muster up enough offensive pressure in the time remaining to close the gap any further.
 
With today's win, the Pronghorns improve to 3-1 on the season, while the Cougars remain winless in four games played this season.
 
The Pronghorns are on the road next weekend, taking on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in Canada West men's hockey action, while the Cougars will be on the road again next weekend, traveling to Vancouver to take on the UBC Thunderbirds.