Cougars Thrill Home Crowd with 7-1 Win in Community Heroes Weekend Opener
PRINCE GEORGE, BC– The Prince George Cougars celebrated their tenth win of the season in grand style, defeating the Vancouver Giants with an impressive 7-1 victory to launch Community Heroes Weekend at the CN Centre.
Koehn Ziemmer stole the spotlight, scoring a natural hat-trick, while Borya Valis added two goals, and Lee Shurgot and Terik Parascak each found the back of the net. Shurgot’s goal marked his first WHL career tally. Goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen stood tall, stopping 29 of the 30 shots he faced from Vancouver.
GOALS:
1st PERIOD:
1-0 Cougars at 0:14 – Borya Valis (9), assisted by Terik Parascak // The crowd of over 6,000 roared to life early as Borya Valis received a pass at the left circle and slipped the puck past Matthew Hutchison, opening the scoring for Prince George.
2-0 Cougars at 5:16 – Terik Parascak (11), assisted by Borya Valis and Riley Heidt // Terik Parascak extended the Cougars’ lead, firing home his own rebound from close range.
3-0 Cougars at 6:36 – Lee Shurgot (1), assisted by Van Eger // In a chaotic play near the Giants’ net, Lee Shurgot slid the puck through traffic for his first WHL goal, pushing the lead to 3-0.
3-1 Giants at 12:33 – Cameron Schmidt (18), assisted by Tyson Zimmer and Adam Titlbach // The Giants responded with a smooth passing play, finding Cameron Schmidt with a wide-open net.
4-1 Cougars at 13:21– Koehn Ziemmer (13), assisted by Evan Groening // Just moments after the Giants’ marker, Ziemmer raced up the right wing and rifled a shot past Hutchison, restoring the Cougars’ three-goal lead. Following this, Burke Hood replaced Hutchison in net for the Giants.
2nd PERIOD:
No Scoring
3rd PERIOD:
5-1 Cougars at 10:06 – Koehn Ziemmer (14), assisted by Matteo Danis and Arseni Anisimov // After a slower second period, the Cougars came out strong in the third, with Ziemmer netting his second goal of the game.
6-1 Cougars at 11:51 – Koehn Ziemmer (15) (PP), assisted by Riley Heidt and Borya Valis // Ziemmer completed his hat-trick, sliding the puck past Burke Hood from a sharp angle along the goal line.
7-1 Cougars at 13:34 – Borya Valis (10), assisted by Arseni Anisimov // Borya Valis capped off the night with his second goal, firing from the right circle to close out the scoring at 7-1.
FINAL SCORE:
VAN: 1 PG: 7
FINAL SHOTS:
VAN: 30 PG: 26
POWER-PLAYS:
VAN: 0-6 PG: 1-3
GOALTENDING:
VAN: Matthew Hutchison – 3/7 – 13:36 | Burke Hood – 16/19 – 46:24
PG: Josh Ravensbergen: 60:00 – 29/30
3 STARS:
1.PG: Koehn Ziemmer (3-0-3)
2.PG: Borya Valis (2-2-4)
3.PG: Josh Ravensbergen (29 Saves)
POST-GAME INTERVIEWS WITH MARK LAMB & KOEHN ZIEMMER
