EDMONTON - Jayden Davis had two points, including the overtime winner, as the Regina Cougars beat the Alberta Golden Bears 3-2 Friday night at Clare Drake Arena.

Davis led the Cougars to their first OT win this season, and was aided by a masterclass from netminder Adam Evanoff who set aside 40/42 shots. The win pushes the Cougars up to 8-13-2, gaining a crucial two points in what will be an exciting battle for the final CW playoff spot.

The Bears were paced by Nolan Volcan and Jakin Smallwood who each potted a goal. They move to 17-5-2 on the year.

The Cougars quieted the Clare Drake faithful early, with rookie Matt Culling ripping a pass from Jayden Davis home in the slot to give the visitors a 1-0 lead four minutes into the game. They would maintain pressure on Bears throughout the first, owing to some poor Alberta discipline that resulted in three powerplays in the frame. The third-ranked PK in the conference was busy, but was able to hold the Cougars to a goose egg on the man-advantage. The visitors entered the intermission with a 1-0 lead.

Regina's PK unit was tested early on in the second, killing two penalties in the first ten minutes of the frame. The Bears would get on the board with eight minutes to go in the period courtesy of a phenomenal individual effort from star rookie Smallwood. Taking the puck at the blue line, Smallwood sped past the Regina pairing and deked Cougar netminder Evanoff on his backhand to fire home his 13th of the year which is good for a solo lead in the rookie scoring race.

However, the Cougars would not wait long to pounce again. Minutes later, on the penalty kill, forward Tyler Heidt raced to a puck on the half-wall and fired an inch-perfect, cross-crease saucer pass to a trailing Adam Pierce who made no mistake for his third of the year. It was only the third shorthanded goal Alberta has given up all year.

It did not take long into the third for the Golden Bears to knot the game up, with Nolan Volcan sniping home his ninth of the year just a minute and a half into the period. And the hosts would not let up from there. Behind a raucous crowd, Alberta would dominate the third, outshooting the Cougars 15-9 and spending a good chunk of the period cycling around in the Regina zone. They could not find a way past Evanoff, however, who stopped all 15 shots he faced in the frame.

To overtime the squads went and after a back-and-forth start, Davis flew into the Bears zone and wristed home an unassisted overtime winner past Bears stalwart Ethan Kruger.

The teams return to the Drake tomorrow at 7 for their last matchup of the regular season.