Game Preview | Cougars at Chiefs | 01/17/25
SPOKANE, WA – Tonight, in Spokane, the Prince George Cougars battle the Spokane Chiefs for the final time this season. Puck drop is slated for 7:05 pm.
THE LAST GAME: Jan. 11, 2025 – PG 3 at KAM 6
PG Goal Scorers: Foster, Riche, Lemire
KAM Goal Scorers: Koci, Keller, Behm (2), Finnie, Sullivan
Goalies: PG: Ravensbergen (31/37 – 60:00) KAM: Ernst (40/43 – 60:00)
PG PP: 1/2 PK: 3/6 | Shots: PG:435 / KAM: 37
3 Stars: 1. Lafrieniere, KAM; 2. Behm, KAM; 3: Ernst, KAM
Noteworthy: Koehn Ziemmer snapped a nine-game goalless drought, scoring in the third period against Kamloops. Ben Riche extended his point streak to 12 games.
WHO’S HOT
Riley Heidt has points in 5 of his last 7 (5-6-11) 10 of his last 13 (9-8-17)
Jett Lajoie has points in 4 consecutive games (1-3-4)
Ben Riche has points in 12 consecutive games (8-10-18)
Borya Valis has points in 6 of his last 7 (4-5-9) 11 of his last 15 (8-12-20)
Josh Ravensbergen has won five of his last seven starts
Cooper Michaluk has won 3 of his last four starts
MILESTONE WATCH:
Riley Heidt – 226 career assists (10 away from record PG & VIC)
Koehn Ziemmer – 114 career goals (7 away from Cougars record)
Borya Valis – 196 career points (4 away from 200)
Viliam Kmec – 91 career assists (9 away from 100)
Van Eger – 90 career games played (10 away from 100)
Josh Ravensbergen – 46 career wins (4 away from 50)
Aleksey Chichkin – 95 career games played (5 away from 100)
Ben Riche – 48 career goals (2 away from 50)
Carson Carels – 43 career games played (7 away from 50)
A LOOK AHEAD:
January 17th – @ Spokane Chiefs – 7:05 pm PDT
January 18th – @ Everett Silvertips – 6:05 pm PDT
January 24th – vs Brandon Wheat Kings – 7:00 pm PDT
January 25th – vs Kamloops Blazers – 6:00 pm
January 28th – vs Swift Current Broncos – 7:00 pm
January 31st – vs. Tri-City Americans – 7:00 pm
February 1st – vs. Tri-City Americans – 6:00 pm
February 4th – at Tri City Americans – 7:05 pm
February 7th – at Kelowna Rockets – 7:05 pm
February 8th – at Kamloops Blazers – 6:00 pm
February 14th – vs. Everett Silvertips – 7:00 pm
February 15th – vs. Everett Silvertips: 6:00 pm
THE LAST GAME vs SPO: Dec. 14, 2024 – PG 3 vs SPO 1
PG Goal Scorers: Heidt, Ziemmer, Valis
SPO Goal Scorers: Crampton
Goalies: PG: Michaluk (33/34 – 60:00) SPO: Cowan (35/38 – 59:40)
PG PP: 0/3 PK: 1/2 | Shots: PG: 38 / SPO: 34
3 Stars: 1. Heidt, PG; 2. Michaluk, PG; 3: Valis PG
Noteworthy: Cooper Michaluk stole the show with a 33 save performance in his first start against his former team and was named the game’s second star.
NOTED (Team Highlights vs SPO)
The Cougars and Chiefs meet for the 16th time in the last five seasons in their regular season history…Prince George holds a 8-3-4-0 overall record. The Cougars are 4-1-2-0 in the last seven meetings, dating back to the 2023-24 regular season.
NOTED (Player Highlights vs SPO)
–Riley Heidt owns 14 points (5-8-14) in 13 career games against Spokane
–Koehn Ziemmer owns 9 points (6-9) in 9 career games against Spokane
– Jett Lajoie leads all Cougars in points against Spokane this season with 4 (2-2-4) in 3 games played
–Josh Ravensbergen is a career 1-0-2 vs Spokane
THROUGH 41: The Cougars enter tonight’s contest sporting a 24-12-3-2 record (53 points). The Cats have won seven of their last ten games and sport the third best winning percentage in the WHL (.667). The Cats currently sit first in the BC division and second in the Western Conference. On the road this season, PG is 11-10-0-0.
NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING: Goaltender Josh Ravensbergen and forwards Jett Lajoie, Aiden Foster, and Ben Riche were each named on NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Season Rankings ahead of the 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles this June. In total, 66 WHL’ers were named to the list. Ravensbergen is ranked as the top North-American goaltender. The North Vancouver, BC product sports a 20-6-3-1 record, along with 3.01 goals against average, and a .901 save percentage. Lajoie clocks in as the 70th ranked skater, while Foster is ranked 134th and are currently both owning career high campaigns. For Ben Riche, the 19-year-old slots in at 174. The Bethune, SK product has been terrific this season and is currently riding a 12-game point streak.
THE PRICE IS RICHE: On Wednesday, January 8th, the Prince George Cougars acquired sniper Ben Riche (05) from the Saskatoon Blades in exchange for Hunter Laing, Luke Dumas, a first-round pick in 2026, and a fifth-round pick in 2028. Riche has had a monster season, owning 54 points (23-31-54) in 37 games played before joining PG. In his debut on January 8th against Vancouver, Riche netted his first goal as a Cougar which resulted being the game winning goal.
MAKING MOVES: On Tuesday, January 7th, the Cougars acquired 6’5 defenceman Aleksey Chichkin (05) from the Regina Pats in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2027. The Vancouver, BC native owns seven points (3-4-7) in 33 games this season.
CATS SOUTH OF THE BORDER: Entering tonight,, the Cougars are 6-4-2-1 against the US Division. The Cougars have outscored their US division foes 40-39. They also have been terrific on the penalty kill south of the border, going 44/51 on the kill (86.3%).
General Manager & Head Coach Mark Lamb chats ahead of a pair of big games this weekend!#ForTheNorth • #WHL pic.twitter.com/mvFkEFBYGU
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) January 15, 2025
