GAME 1 PREVIEW: Cougars Collide with Rockets to Begin Western Conference Semi-Finals
PRINCE GEORGE, BC – Tonight, at the CN Centre, the Prince George Cougars tangle with their BC division rival Kelowna Rockets in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Game time is slotted for 7:00 pm. This matchup marks the third time in WHL history that the Cougars and Rockets have met in a playoff series.
The Prince George Cougars secured their first-round win with a four-game sweep of the Spokane Chiefs, with the most recent contest coming in a 3-2 win at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on Wednesday, April 3rd. Viliam Kmec, Koehn Ziemmer, and Zac Funk supplied the Prince George offence, and Ty Young secured his first win of the 2024 Playoffs, making 30 saves.
PG GOAL SCORERS: Kmec, Ziemmer, Funk
GOALIE: Young – 30/32 (.937)
PP: 1/3
PK: 3/3
COUGARS LAST FIVE RESULTS, Record: 5-0-0-0
DATE | RESULT | GWG | PG GOALIE | OPP. GOALIE |
March 23, 2024 | PG [5] vs KAM [2] | Becher | Ravensbergen | Sanche |
March 23, 2024 (G1) | PG [6] vs SPO [1] | Parascak | Ravensbergen | Cowan |
March 24, 2024 | PG [7] vs SPO [4] | Dezainde | Ravensbergen | Cowan/Michaluk |
April 2, 2024 | PG [4] at SPO [2] | Thornton | Ravensbergen | Michaluk |
April 3, 2024 | PG [3] at SPO [2] | Funk | Young | Cowan |
COUGARS UPCOMING SCHEDULE
DATE | TIME (PDT) | OPPONENT | VENUE |
April 12, 2024 | 7:00 pm | Game 1 – vs. Kelowna | CN Centre |
April 13, 2024 | 6:00 pm | Game 2 – vs Kelowna | CN Centre |
April 16, 2024 | 7:05 pm | Game 3 – at Kelowna | Prospera Place |
April 17, 2024 | 7:05 pm | Game 4 – at Kelowna | Prospera Place |
April 19, 2024 | 7:00 pm | Game 4 – vs. Kelowna (IF NEC) | CN Centre |
PLAYOFF SCHEDULE – PG vs KEL
Apr. 12/2024 – at Prince George
Apr. 13/2024– at Prince George
Apr. 16/2024 – at Kelowna
Apr. 17/2024 – at Kelowna
Apr. 19/2024 – at Prince George* (If NEC)
Apr. 21/2024 – at Kelowna * (If NEC)
Apr. 23/2024 – at Prince George * (If NEC)
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Oct. 3.2023 – at Prince George (3-2 PG)
Oct. 4/2023 – at Prince George (8-1 PG)
Oct. 13/2023 – at Kelowna (5-4 KEL)
Nov. 18/2023 – at Kelowna (5-4 PG)
Jan. 12/2023 – at Prince George (5-2 PG)
Jan. 13/2023 – at Prince George (3-2 KEL/SO)
Feb. 24/2023 – at Kelowna (6-5 PG/SO)
Mar. 13/2023 – at Kelowna (6-5 PG/OT)
2023-2024 PLAYOFF STATS LEADERS
Goals (4): Terik Parascak
Assists (7): Riley Heidt
Points (8): Zac Funk
Plus/Minus (+4): Keaton Dowhaniuk, Ephram McNutt
|
|
PLAYOFF HISTORY vs. KELOWNA
2000 Conf. Quarterfinals (PG Wins 4-1)
2011 Conf. Quarterfinals (KEL Wins 4-0)
TONIGHT: The Cougars enter the Western Conference Semi-Finals for the second consecutive year. The Cougars are coming off a four-game sweep of the Spokane Chiefs in the opening round. PG finished 49-15-1-3 record (102 points) in the regular season which has won the BC Division and Western Conference. The Cats finished 25-7-1-1 at home and 24-8-0-2 on the road this season.
CAPTAIN INKS PROFESSIONAL DEAL: Cougar captain Hudson Thornton has signed a one year contract with the AHL’ Hershey Bears, the affiliate to the Washington Capitals. “It’s really exciting. It was one of my goals this year to try and earn myself a professional contract and I am super thankful for the opportunity, and will do everything I can to try and make that team next year” Thornton said.
We've signed defenseman Hudson Thornton to an AHL contract for the 2024-25 season. He is the captain of the @PGCougars and posted 74 points this season.
— y-Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) April 10, 2024
LAING RETURNS: The Cougars have returned draft eligible forward Hunter Laing back to the lineup. Laing has been sidelined since late March due to an upper body injury he sustained against the Vancouver Giants at the Langley Events Centre.
Hunter Laing is back and healthy!
Welcome Back, 11!#PGWhiteOut • #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/0OuY7JTH4Z
— xy – Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 11, 2024
THE BENCH BOSS: For the second consecutive season, Cougars GM & Head Coach Mark Lamb has been named the BC Division nominee for the WHL Coach of the Year. Lamb’s 2023-2024 season behind the bench was the most successful regular season in team history.
HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR: The BC Division’s first and second all-start teams featured six Prince George Cougars. Zac Funk, Riley Heidt, and Hudson Thornton cracked the first all-star team while Viliam Kmec, Terik Parascak, and Joshua Ravensbergen were named to the second all-star team.
AGAINST KELOWNA: The Cougars boasted a 6-1-0-1 record against Kelowna in the 2023-2024 regular season, and five of the eight contests were decided by one goal. The most recent clash between the BC division rivals came on March 13th where the Cats won 6-5 in Kelowna, courtesy of a Hudson Thornton overtime winner. The Rockets are coming a six-game series win over the Wenatchee Wild in the Western Conference Quarter-Finals. Draft eligible forward Tij Iginla propelled the Kelowna offence, scoring eight times, which leads the WHL entering the second round. Iginla is also the regining WHL Player of the Week entering round two.
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
WHEN: Friday, April 12th– 7:00 pm
WHERE: CN Centre – Prince George, BC
LISTEN: 94.3 The Goat
WATCH: WHL Live