Cougars Begin Second Half with Shootout Victory over Royals
VICTORIA, BC – It’s another victory for the Prince George Cougars. The Cats won their first game of the second half with a character 2-1 victory over the Victoria Royals, Friday the Save on Foods Memorial Centre.
Riley Heidt scored the lone Cougar goal in regulation, while Koehn Ziemmer scored the shootout winner. Josh Ravensbergen was terrific in goal, making 28 saves and was named the games first star.
Prince George started the scoring at the 10:33 mark courtesy of their captain Riley Heidt (15). Heidt took the puck off a Royal turnover and slid a shot through the legs of Jayden Kraus to make it 1-0. That marker for Heidt was his 100th career WHL goal. Josh Ravensbergen was superb in the opening period, making 11 saves on 11 shots.
In the second, the Royals knotted up the score 43 seconds in on a delayed Cougar penalty. Despite allowing an early goal in the frame, Josh Ravensbergen continued to stand tall, making multiple saves on some Grade A Royals’ chances.
Despite some great chances on both sides, both goaltenders in Josh Ravensbergen and Jayden Kraus were tremendous and the game needed overtime.
It was more of the same in overtime as both teams traded chances, but it was again Ravensbergen and Kraus the stars of the show, forcing a shootout.
In the shootout, Koehn Ziemmer scored a dandy of a goal, going to one hand and sliding the puck through the legs of Jayden Kraus to give Prince George the lead. Josh Ravensbergen was rock solid, making 3 saves on 3 Royal shooters to help the Cougars to their nineteenth win of the campaign.
Stats & Standouts
- Riley Heidt picked up points in his 5th consecutive game, scoring a goal tonight.
- Josh Ravensbergen earned his 17th win of the season, ranking him 2nd in the WHL in wins.
What’s Next?
The Cougars are wrap-up the weekend set tomorrow night against the Royals in the BC Capital. The trip concludes on New Year’s Eve when they take on the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Next Game: Saturday, Dec. 28 at Victoria | 6:05 pm
Next Home Game: Friday, Jan. 3 vs Seattle | 7:00 pm
