Despite a game of firsts for two young defensemen on Friday night, the Cougs’ third period push was not enough in the 4-3 loss to Western Washington.

The puck dropped at the Palouse Ice Rink for the first time this season and the Cougars came out firing. WSU’s top two lines created multiple grade-A chances in the first five minutes of the game but were unable to get on the board before the Vikings.

Bret Brumbaugh buried home a rebound off an Aaron James near breakaway attempt to give Western the icebreaker just over seven minutes into the first frame. 

WSU continued to get shots on next, but goaltender Nolan Morena was not budging for the Vikings.. That was until freshman defenseman Lex Ballard was credited his first career ACHA goal off a mad scramble. This tied the game with just 11.9 seconds left in the first period.

“The points have a lot of space, you know,” Ballard said. “If we move it to the point, we had two goals from defensemen, we gotta move it to the point,” Ballard said.

The second period started and so did the disciplinary issues for Washington State. A five-on-three opportunity gave Western the lead around the four minute mark of the second as Tyler Chapman found the fivehole of WSU netminder Alexei Kuhl.

Just two minutes later, former Tri-Cities Americans player, Andrew Fan, zipped a loose puck past Kuhl to make it 3-1 Vikings.

With just over 11 minutes gone in the second, Aaron James tucked a rebound home off the initial shot from Fan, extending the lead to 4-1 for Western. Despite the Cougars’ strong offensive showing, they were outscored 3-0 in the second.

“You know when you’re a little flatfooted for even five, ten minutes in this league, it can cost you the game,” WSU head coach John Lupinacci said. “That’s what happened to the boys tonight.””

The rubber biscuit dropped for the final period of regulation and the Cougars looked adjusted from that rough second period. They continued to send pucks on net but Morena held strong like he had been all game. As well as Morena, Fan was seemingly a thorn in the side of the Cougars in this contest.

“Great kid, great player. When he’s on the ice, there’s a scoring threat,” Lupinacci said.

However, Keagan Lucas found the back of the net through traffic on a shot from the point. As Lucas recorded his first career goal in the league, the freshman defenseman brought the Cougars within two.

“I feel like we just had to be more confident in the way we play our game,” Lucas said.

Time was not on WSU’s side as it began to wind down, but not before Cole Carlson’s shot from the high slot found its way through. The Cougars’ captain cut the deficit to one, registering his 96th career point.

The Cougars pulled Kuhl later on to add an extra skater in desperate measure to tie the game. Although they had the man-advantage, time ran out on WSU and the Vikings held on for a 4-3 victory in the Cougs’ home opener.

Morena held the door shut just enough for Western, recording 54 saves on 57 shots from the Cougars and a win to finish his impressive night between the pipes.

“Penalties killed us too in the second so, always good for a young team to learn discipline like that, discipline is key,” Lupinacci said. “You want to win hockey games, you gotta stay out of the box, and you gotta play three periods”.

The Cougars are scheduled to play the Vikings again Saturday afternoon in game two of the weekend series.

“If they come back tomorrow and play the same way, I think it’s a different outcome,” Lupinacci said.