Game Preview | Cougars at Thunderbirds | 12/31/24
KENT, WA – Tonight, at the accesso ShoWare Center, the Prince George Cougars battle the Seattle Thunderbirds in a New Year’s Eve Showdown at 6:05 pm.
THE LAST GAME: Dec. 28, 2024 – PG 2 at VIC 1
PG Goal Scorers: Laing, Foster
VIC Goal Scorers: Trembecky
Goalies: PG: Ravensbergen (37/38 – 60:00) VIC: Kraus (26/27 – 60:00)
PG PP: 0/2 PK: 5/5 | Shots: PG: 38 / VIC: 27
3 Stars: 1. Ravensbergen, PG; 2. Trembecky, VIC; 3: Carels, PG
Noteworthy: The Cougars earned their fourth consecutive victory. Josh Ravensbergen earned his 18th win which ranks 1st in the WHL.
WHOS HOT
Riley Heidt has points in 5 of his last 6 (4-2-6) 12 of his last 14 (10-13-22)
Terik Parascak has points in 10 of his last 14 (5-14-19)
Borya Valis has points in 5 of his last 8 (4-5-9)
Carson Carels has points in 5 of his last 8 (2-7-9)
Josh Ravensbergen has won six of his last seven starts
MILESTONE WATCH:
Riley Heidt – 220 career assists (16 away from record PG & VIC)
Riley Heidt – 247 career games played (3 away from 250)
Koehn Ziemmer – 113 career goals (8 away from Cougars record)
Terik Parascak – 149 career points (1 away from 150)
Jett Lajoie – 93 career games played (7 away from 100)
Borya Valis – 187 career points (13 away from 200)
Viliam Kmec – 88 career assists (12 away from 100)
Van Eger – 89 career games played (11 away from 100)
Josh Ravensbergen – 44 career wins (6 away from 50)
A LOOK AHEAD:
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
January 10th – @ Kelowna Rockets – 7:05 pm PDT
January 11th – @ Kamloops Blazers – 6:00 pm PDT
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
THE LAST GAME vs SEA: Oct. 4, 2024 – PG 5 at SEA 2
PG Goal Scorers: Lajoie, Laing, Dezainde (2), Valis
SEA Goal Scorers: Bawa, Charko
Goalies: PG: Ravensbergen (27/29 – 60:00) SEA: Malinoski (24/29 – 60:00)
PG PP: 1/3 PK: 3/4 | Shots: PG: 29 / SEA: 29
3 Stars: 1. Dezainde, PG; 2. Heidt, PG; 3: Lajoie, PG
Noteworthy: 8 different Cougars picked up points in the win. Borya Valis and Riley Heidt both had multi-point nights in the win
SEASON SERIES LEFT: 01/03 in PG, 01/04 in PG
NOTED (Team Highlights vs SEA)
The Cougars and Royals meet for the 12th time in the last five seasons in their regular season history…Prince George holds a 6-5-0-0 overall record. The Cougars are 5-0 in the last five meetings, dating back to the 2023-24 regular season. The last Cougars loss at SEA was 12/13/22.
NOTED (Player Highlights vs. SEA)
–Riley Heidt owns 15 points (6-9-15) in 11 career games against Seattle
–Terik Parascak owns 9 points (2-7-9) in 5 career games against Seattle
-Since being a member of the Cougars, Borya Valis has 6 points (2-4-6) in 5 career games against Seattle
– Koehn Ziemmer has 7 points (5-2-7) in 6 career games at Seattle
–Josh Ravensbergen is a career 4-0 against Seattle
ROAD WARRIORS: The Cougars enter Tuesday’s contest having won four consecutive games. The Cats will enter tonight’s game against Seattle, sporting a 10-8-0-0 record away from the CN Centre. Last season, the Cougars finished 24-8-0-2 on the road which was a franchise high.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER: Entering tonight’s battle against Seattle, the Cougars are 4-3-2-1 against the US Division. The Cougars penalty kill against their opponents south of the border is an impressive 88.4% (38/43).
WHL GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: After stopping 65 of 67 shots over the weekend against the Victoria Royals, Josh Ravensbergen has been named the WHL’s Goaltender of the Week. The draft-eligible goaltender had incredible statistics, owning a 0.96 goals against average, a .970 save percentage, and two first star honours. Ravensbergen enters tonight against Seattle tied in wins in the WHL with 18.
LET TWENTY-SEVEN COOK: Riley Heidt posted a goal in the win over Victoria on December 27th. With that point, he now owns points in five of his last six games (4-2-5) and 12 of his last 14 (7-13-29). The Cougars all-time points and assists leader sits with 40 points this season (15-25-39) and is closing in on 250 games in the WHL. In the 247 games Heidt has played, he owns 320 points (100-220-320).
THE KID: Rookie defenceman Carson Carels picked up two assists in the win over Victoria on Saturday, December 28th. With those assists, the Cypress River, MB product is third among WHL rookie defenceman in assists (16). On the season as a whole, Carels owns 20 points (4-16-20) in 29 games played.
CLIMBING THE RANKS: Veteran forwards and NHL prospects Riley Heidt and Koehn Ziemmer are on history watch. For Ziemmer, he currently sits at 113 goals, which is seven behind current Cougars’ record holder Chase Witala (120). For Heidt, he is also on track for history. Heidt is 15 assists away from eclipsing Mark Morrison’s all-time Cougars record (VIC & PG) who owned 235.
Most goals, team history (since relocation):
Chase Witala (2011-16): 120 Goals
Koehn Ziemmer (2020-Pres.) 113 Goals
Eric Hunter (2002-07) – 111 Goals
Chris Falloon (1998-04) – 100 Goals
Riley Heidt (2020-Pres.) – 100 Goals
Most assists, team history (incl. VIC & PG)
Mark Morrison – (1979-83) – 235 assists
Barry Pederson – (1977-80) – 223 assists
Riley Heidt – (2020-Pres.) – 220 assists
