GAME 2 PREVIEW: Cougars vs. Winterhawks | Western Conference Championship
COUGARS VS WINTERHAWKS – ROUND 3 GAME 2
LISTEN: 94.3 THE GOAT
WATCH: WHL LIVE
MATCH-UP INFO
- Tonight marks the fifth meeting between the Cougars and Winterhawks in the playoffs. The previous matchup was played in 2022-23 when the Portland Winterhawks defeated the Prince George Cougars in four games
- Prince George split their season series against Portland: Dec. 3 (road, 4-0 PG), Jan. 6 (road, 4-3 POR), Jan. 19 (home, 3-2 PG), and Jan. 20 (home, 2-1 POR).
- In the last five seasons, the Cougars are 3-4-1-0 against the Winterhawks on home ice
- The Cougars are 5-3-0-0 against the Winterhawks in their last eight meetings.
- Zac Funk leads all Cougar skaters in scoring against Portland this season with 7 points (4-3-7) in 4 regular season games.
- Riley Heidt (1-2-3) has three points in three post-season games against Portland.
- In three games this season (2-1-0-0), Josh Ravensbergen has a 2.01 GAA and a .932 save percentage vs. Portland.
- Ty Young is 0-1 vs Portland this season while possessing a 2.04 GAA and a .929 save percentage.
QUICK NUMBERS
- Riley Heidt has recorded 18 points (3-15-18) in ten playoff games in 2024. He currently ranks first for points among Cougars’ skaters and ranked 3rd among WHL skaters. Heidt finished the regular season with 117 points (37-80-117) which ranked third in the WHL and second in league assists.
- Zac Funk owns 16 points (7-9-16) in te playoff games for Prince George this spring. Funk’s seven tallies rank T-3rd in the WHL. The Washington Capitals prospect paced the WHL in scoring this season, finding the back of the net 67 times.
- Draft-eligible forward Terik Parascak has put together an impressive stat-line for his first full crack at the WHL playoffs. Parascak has collected 14 points (6-8-14) in ten playoff games which ranks first among all WHL rookies.
- The Prince George Cougars finished 2nd in the WHL season, 1st in the Western Conference, and clinched the BC Division. The Cougars’ 49-15-1-3 record marked the best season in team history. Prince George also posted the best road record in the WHL this season with a 24-8-0-2 record.
2023-2024 POST-SEASON TEAM RANKS
PG | POR | |
GOALS FOR/GAME | 4.5 (2nd) | 4.2 (4th ) |
GOALS AGAINST/GAME | 1.7 (1st) | 2.1 (2nd ) |
POWER-PLAY % | 29.3% (4th) | 40% (1st) |
PENALTY-KILL % | 96.9% (1st) | 80.9 (3rd) |
PENALTY MIN./GAME | 11.2 (2nd Most) | 13.7 (1st Most) |
LAST GAME PLAYED – APR. 26/24: PG 5 vs POR 0
Terik Parascak opened the scoring for the game with his 6th of the post-season at 1:43…assisted by Riley Heidt and Viliam Kmec…Bauer Dumanski added to lead at 8:19 of the second period for his first of the playoffs …assisted by Zac Funk and Borya Valis…Hudson Thornton made it 3-0 at 14:02…Riley Heidt and Terik Parascak picked up the helpers…Ondrej Becher joined the scoring party at 18:14… LA King prospect Koehn Ziemmer picked up the lone assist…Ziemmer then scored one his own at 15:45 of the third period to make it 5-0 PG on the power-play…Carlin Dezainde and Bauer Dumanski were credited with the assists…Josh Ravensberge picked up the 33 save shutout for his third clean sheet of the playoffs…Terik Parascak and Oren Shtrom led the Cats in shots on goal with 7.
LAST 5 – vs PORTLAND
- Dec. 2/23: PG 4 at POR 0
- Jan. 6/24: PG 3 at POR 4
- Jan 19/24: PG 3 vs POR 2
- Jan 20/24: PG 1 vs POR 2
- Apr. 26/24: PG 5 vs POR 0 (Playoffs)
WE WANT THE FUNK
After scoring 67 goals and 123 points (67-56-123) during the 2023/24 regular season, Zac Funk broke the Cougars’ single-season record for goals, surpassing Quinn Hancock’s record in 1997.
Zac Funk led all WHL skaters in plus/minus in the 2023/24 season (+56).
Recording his 31st power-play goal on Mar. 17./24 at VAN, Zac Funk tied Eric Fehr (2004-05) for the most power-play goals in a single season in the Internet era. The 31 power-play tallies also is a team record, after surpassing former teammate Chase Wheatcroft who scored 22 power-play goals in the 2022/23 campaign
The remarkable season for Zac Funk, consisting of 123 points (67-56-123), is statistically the best single-season by any Prince George Cougar in their 30-year history. Funk eclipsed Quinn Hancock’s record of 112 from the 1997/98 season. Funk also suited up in one less game than Hancock did (Funk, 68 GP, Hancock, 69 GP).
On March 1st, Zac Funk signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals. Funk’s contract carries an average annual value of $810,000 (NHL) and $82,500 in the AHL.
TAKING THINGS TO NEW HEIDTS
After recording 80 assists (37-80-117) in 2023-24, Riley Heidt broke his own record for most assists in a season by a Prince George Cougar in team history. His previous best was set last season with 72 assists (25-72-97).
In the 2023/24 regular season, Riley Heidt became the Prince George Cougars’ all-time leader in points and assists (85-195-280). Heidt eclipsed the record that was held by Jansen Harkins who collected 167 assists and 242 points (75-167-242) in 275 games played. Heidt has suited up in 221 games as Prince George Cougar.
Riley Heidt paced the WHL in power-play assists this season (36)
Minnesota Wild prospect Riley Heidt signed a three-year entry level contract with the Wild. The contract starts with the 2024/25 season. Heidt was named the WHL Player of the Week on Feb/ 26 after posting 11 points (4-7-11) in four games, along with being named the WHL Player of the Month for December after recording 24 points (7-17-24) over 11 games. The Wild selected Heidt in the second round (64th overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville.
SUPER ROOKIE PART 1:
With 43 goals in the 2023/24 season, draft-eligible forward Terik Parascak became the Cougars’ single-season goal leader among rookie skaters. Parascak surpasses alumnus Brett Connolly and current forward Koehn Ziemmer who both scored 30 goals in their respective rookie seasons.
After a stellar rookie campaign, forward Terik Parascak (43-62-105) paced all WHL rookie skaters in points. The Lethbridge, AB native also led WHL rookies in goals, plus-minus (+49), and T-1st in power-play goals (12).
Rookie forward Terik Parascak led all WHL rookies in shots on goal in the 2023/24 season (264) and ranked 2nd for game-winning- goals (7).
Terik Parascak was listed as the #15 ranked North American Skater on the Final Season rankings from NHL Central Scouting
SUPER ROOKIE PART 2:
Rookie netminder Josh Ravensbergen paced the WHL in wins in the 2023/24 season among rookie goalies (26).
2025 draft eligible goaltender Josh Ravensbergen (26-4-1-1) finished the 2023/24 season with a league-leading six shutouts, which tied a league rookie record. Ravensbergen also posted a 2.46 goals against average which led all WHL rookies and 5th among all goaltenders.
Josh Ravensbergen became the fastest goalie in team history to reach six shutouts in a season, surpassing alumnus Scott Bowles in 2005-06.
In his rookie season, undrafted goaltender Josh Ravensbergen logged 2072 minutes in the Prince George Cougar goal crease, which paced all WHL rookie goaltenders.
CZECH IT OUT
Forward Ondrej Becher has turned many heads in his sophomore season with the Prince George Cougars. The European forward from Czechia finished the 2023/24 season with 96 points (32-64-96) in just 58 games. It’s the most points recorded by a European in PG Cougars’ history in a season
In 121 games as a Prince George Cougar, Ondrej Becher (48-86-134) owns the most points by any European in Prince George Cougars history
On the final season rankings listed out by NHL Central Scouting, 19-year-old forward Ondrej Becher was listed as the 69th ranked North American skater, moving up 15 spots from his previous ranking
Cougar forward Ondrej Becher was crowned a bronze medalist at the 2024 World Junior Hockey Championship with Team Czechia. Becher was a catalyst in the third place finish, netting a hat-trick in the bronze medal game.
A RECORD BREAKING SEASON
The 2023-2024 Prince George Cougars (102 points) own the team record for most standing points throughout their 30-year history. The previous record was held by the 2016-17 Cougars, who owned 96 points through 72 games.
The Cougars, this season, set the team record for most wins (49) in a single season. These 49 wins eclipse the 2016-17 Cougars, where they collected 45 victories.
BC DIVISION CLINCH
By defeating the Victoria Royals on Feb. 24/24, the 2023-24 Prince George Cougars clinched the BC Division for the second time in team history. The Cats finished the regular season with a 49-15-3-1 record which also led the Western Conference.
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
- With Zac Funk, Riley Heidt, and Terik Parascak all earning 100 points in the 2023/24 season, they became the first Cougars trio in team history to accomplish this feat.
- Cougar goaltenders Josh Ravensbergen and Ty Young both had unbelievable seasons, combining for 49 wins (Ravensbergen 26, Young, 23). Statistically, the Cougar tandem is the best in a single season in team history.