Game Preview | Cougars at Americans | Wednesday Night in the Dub | 12/11/24
KENNEWICK, WA – Tonight, the Prince George Cougars begin their final road swing of the first half of the regular season as they battle the Tri-City Americans at 7:05 pm at the Toyota Center. Tonight marks the first of four meetings this season between Prince George and Tri-City. Tonight’s game is also featured on the WHL’s ‘Wednesday Night in the Dub’ and can be watched for free on YouTube and CHL TV.
LAST GAME: 6-3 Win vs Kamloops Blazers: The Prince George Cougars collected their second straight victory with a 6-3 win over the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday, December 7th at the CN Centre. Hunter Laing propelled the Prince George offence by collecting three points (2-1-3) and being named the first star. Carson Carels was the elusive Teddy Bear Toss goal scorer in the contest, while Riley Heidt, Koehn Ziemmer, and Aiden Foster also added tallies. Josh Ravensbergen, once again, stood tall in the Cougar crease, making 25 saves.
VS. TRI-CITY: Tonight will be the first of four meetings between the Cougars and Americans in the 2024-25 season. Last season, Prince George finished the season series 3-1 against the Americans. During the season series, Terik Parascak led all active Cougars in points with 8 (3-5-8).
2024-2025 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS
Goals (20) – Koehn Ziemmer
Assists (24) – Viliam Kmec, Borya Valis, Riley Heidt
Points (39) –Borya Valis
PIMS (75) – Aiden Foster
Plus/Minus (+21) – Viliam Kmec
Wins (14) – Josh Ravensbergen
Save Percentage (.901) – Josh Ravensbergen
Goals Against Average (3.02) – Josh Ravensbergen
Shutouts (0) – N/A
WHOS HOT
Viliam Kmec has points in 7 of his last 8 (1-9-10)
Riley Heidt has points in 9 of his last 10 (8-12-20)
Terik Parascak has points in 7 of his last 8 (3-12-15)
Koehn Ziemmer has points in 10 of his last 13 (14-6-20)
Borya Valis has points in 12 of his last 15 (9-12-21)
Carson Carels has points in 3 of his last 4 (2-3-5)
MILESTONE WATCH
Riley Heidt – 98 career goals (2 away from 100)
Riley Heidt – 219 career assists (17 away from record PG & VIC)
Riley Heidt – 242 career games played (8 away from 250)
Koehn Ziemmer – 111 career goals (10 away from Cougar record)
Terik Parascak – 96 career games played (5 away from 100)
Corbin Vaughan – 98 career games played (2 away from 100)
Terik Parascak – 145 career points (5 away from 150)
Terik Parascak – 87 career assists (13 away from 100)
Jett Lajoie – 87 career games played (13 away from 100)
Borya Valis – 182 career points (18 away from 200)
Bauer Dumanski – 48 career assists (2 away from 50)
Aiden Foster – 94 career games played (6 away from 100)
A LOOK AHEAD:
December 11th – @ Tri-City Americans – 7:05 pm PDT
December 13th – @ Portland Winterhawks – 7:00 pm PDT
December 14th – @ Spokane Chiefs – 6:05 pm PDT
December 17th – @ Kelowna Rockets – 7:05 pm PDT
December 27th – @ Victoria Royals – 7:05 pm PDT
December 28th – @ Victoria Royals – 6:05 pm PDT
December 31st – @ Seattle Thunderbirds – 6:05 pm PDT
January 3rd – vs. Seattle Thunderbirds – 7:00 pm PDT
January 4th – vs. Seattle Thunderbirds – 6:00 pm PDT
January 7th – vs. Vancouver Giants – 7:00 pm PDT
January 8th – vs. Vancouver Giants – 6:00 pm PDT
28 DOWN: The Prince George Cougars enter tonight with a 15-8-3-2 record (35 points) after 28 games. The Cats are 10-1-3-2 at home and 5-7-0-0 on the road this season.
CORBIN THE COUGAR: On Sunday, December 8th, the Cougars acquired defenceman Corbin Vaughan (06) from the Regina Pats in exchange for defenceman Ephram McNutt (05) and a second-round pick in 2025. Vaughan, 18, has played 98 WHL games with Regina before joining Prince George. He will make his Cougars’ debut tonight when they play the Tri-City Americans. In his 98 WHL games, Vaughan owns four goals and 14 points. The product of Merritt, BC will wear #15.
27 HEADING TO OTTAWA: Cougars captain Riley Heidt has been invited to Team Canada’s National Junior Selection Camp on December 10-13 in Ottawa, ON. Heidt is one of 12 WHL skaters to the selection camp. For Heidt, this will be his first opportunity in his young career to try and crack a World Junior roster spot.
PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF: For Washington Capitals’ first-round selection of 2024 in Terik Parascak, he has picked up where he left off from last season. The product of Lethbridge, AB, leads all Cougar skaters this season in points, compiling 38 (14-24-38) in 24 games played.
27/13 CHASING HISTORY: Veteran forwards and NHL prospects Riley Heidt and Koehn Ziemmer are on history watch. For Ziemmer, he currently sits at 111 goals, which is nine behind current Cougars’ record holder Chase Witala (120). For Heidt, he is also on track for history. Heidt is 16 assists away from eclipsing Mark Morrison’s all-time Cougars record (VIC & PG) who owned 235.
NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING: Three Prince George Cougars have been named to NHL Central Scouting’s Preliminary List. Goaltender Josh Ravensbergen and forwards Jett Lajoie and Aiden Foster were three Prince George Cougars named to the list. In total, 55 WHL players were named to the list. Ravensbergen was named an ‘A’ rating, which indicates the North Vancouver, BC product as a potential first-round selection. For Lajoie and Foster, they have them named a ‘C’ rating, which classifies the duo as a possible fourth or fifth-round pick.
RAVENSBERGEN SHINES ON BIG STAGE: Cougar goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen has returned from the CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota. The draft-eligible netminder suited up in Game 1 and earned Team CHL the victory and made 15 saves in the win. Ravensbergen was one of two selected goaltenders for Team CHL at the event.
WHERE & HOW TO WATCH
