The WHL says it has fined the Prince George Cougars $1,500 “for security” following the team’s Wednesday night home playoff loss that ended with frustrated fans tossing beer cans on the ice.
Cougars forward Aiden Foster has also been handed a two-game suspension after a checking-to-the-head penalty he took in Game 4 of the team’s second-round playoff series against Penticton on April 15.
Foster, a fourth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, will miss the fifth and sixth games of the best-of-seven series, which is tied 2-2.
Some fans at the CN Centre on Wednesday threw debris on the ice in frustration with the seven called penalties on the Cougars late in the third period, including a five-minute major at 14:10 that set up the Vees’ game-winning goal.
Penalty calls against Prince George, 12 in total, drew the ire of some of the more than 5,300 in attendance, with the home team playing shorthanded for 11 of the 20 third-period minutes.
Foster received a game misconduct for his checking-to-the-head penalty in the middle frame, before the Cougars were assessed an additional two game misconducts in the third.
There was also a fight in the stands late in the third period, according to the Cougars’ home radio broadcast on 94.3 FM.
The Vees would go on to win 5-2, after scoring three power-play goals in the last six minutes of regulation.
Game 5 is set for Friday, April 17, in Penticton.
A sixth game will return to the CN Centre in Prince George on Sunday. Game 7, if necessary, would be in Penticton on Tuesday, April 21.
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