Game Preview | Cougars vs. Giants | 01/08/25

PRINCE GEORGE, BC – Tonight, at CN Centre, the Prince George Cougars conclude their four-game home-stand as they take on the Vancouver Giants at 7:00 pm. Tonight marks the Cougar debut for the newly acquired forward Ben Riche.

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THE LAST GAME: Jan. 7, 2025 – PG 4 vs VAN 2

PG Goal Scorers: Heidt, Valis, Lajoie, Kmec

VAN Goal Scorers: Schmidt, Leslie

Goalies: PG: Ravensbergen (26/28 – 60:00) VAN: Hood (25/28 – 60:00)

PG PP: 0/3 PK: 1/2 | Shots: PG: 30 / VAN: 28

3 Stars: 1. Heidt, PG; 2. Schmidt, VAN; 3: Ravensbergen, PG

Noteworthy: Riley Heidt collected his 224^th and 225^th  career assists, marking him 11 assists shy of surpassing Mark Morrison’s all-time assist record in Victoria and Prince George Cougars history.

WHO’S HOT

Riley Heidt has points in 9 of his last 10 (8-7-15) 16 of his last 18 (14-19-30)

Terik Parascak has points in 13 of his last 17 (6-19-25)

Ben Riche has points in 9 consecutive games (6-9-15)

Borya Valis has points in 9 of his last 12 (7-9-16)

Josh Ravensbergen has won seven of his last nine starts

Cooper Michaluk has won his last three starts

MILESTONE WATCH

Riley Heidt – 225 career assists (11 away from record PG & VIC)

Koehn Ziemmer – 113 career goals (8 away from Cougars record)

Jett Lajoie – 97 career games played (3 away from 100)

Borya Valis – 191 career points (9 away from 200)

Viliam Kmec – 90 career assists (19 away from 100)

Van Eger – 89 career games played (11 away from 100)

Josh Ravensbergen – 45 career wins (5 away from 50)

Aleksey Chichkin – 93 career games played (7 away from 100)

Ben Riche – 46 career goals (4 away from 50)

A LOOK AHEAD

January 8^th – vs. Vancouver Giants – 7:00 pm PDT

January 10^th – @ Kelowna Rockets – 7:05 pm PDT

January 11^th – @ Kamloops Blazers – 6:00 pm PDT

January 17^th – @ Spokane Chiefs – 7:05 pm PDT

January 18^th – @ Everett Silvertips – 6:05 pm PDT

January 24^th – vs Brandon Wheat Kings – 7:00 pm PDT

January 25^th – vs Kamloops Blazers – 6:00 pm

January 28^th – vs Swift Current Broncos – 7:00 pm

January 31^st – vs. Tri-City Americans – 7:00 pm

February 1^st – vs. Tri-City Americans – 6:00 pm

February 4^th – at Tri City Americans – 7:05 pm

February 7^th – at Kelowna Rockets – 7:05 pm

NOTED (Team Highlights vs VAN)

The Cougars and Giants meet for the 41^st  time in the last five seasons in their regular season history…Prince George holds a 26-12-1-1 overall record. The Cougars are 10-3-0-0 in the last thirteen meetings, dating back to the 2023-24 regular season.

CATS ARE HOT: The Cougars enter Wedndesday’s  contest having won seven of their last eight games. The Cats enter January after their season-best month of December, sporting an 8-1-0-0 record. The Cougars sit atop the BC Division and are second in the Western Conference.

THE PRICE IS RICHE: On Wednesday, January 8^th, 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. He enters tonight’s game against Vancouver with points in nine consecutive games.

MAKING MOVES: On Tuesday, January 7^th, 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 DO BC: Entering tonight’s battle against Vancouver, the Cougars are 13-2-0-1 against the BC Division. The Cougars have outscored their BC division foes 73-46, and are nearly connecting at 30% on the power-play.