PREVIEW: Cougars Aim To Claim Top Spot in West in Final Regular Season Game
PRINCE GEORGE, BC – Tonight, at the CN Centre, the Prince George Cougars conclude their regular season schedule against the Kamloops Blazers at 6:00 pm. A Prince George win tonight earns them the first-place seed in the Western Conference heading into the playoffs which kicks off Friday, March 29th. Tonight is Retro Night at the CN Centre and the Cougars will don special black retro jerseys. The night also features a Mega 50/50 Jackpot with a guaranteed jackpot of $50,000, benefitting the Spirit of the North.
The Prince George Cougars won their season-high eighth consecutive game, defeating the Kamloops Blazers by a 9-2 score. Ondrej Becher led the Cougar offence, contributing a four-point effort including a hat-trick. 13 different Cougar skaters found the scoresheet in the victory.
PG GOAL SCORERS: Dezainde, Foster, Shtrom, Valis, Valis, Becher, Becher, Lajoie, Becher
GOALIE: Young– 34/36 (.944)
PP: 1/2
PK: 2/2
COUGARS LAST FIVE RESULTS, Record: 5-0-0-0
DATE | RESULT | GWG | PG GOALIE | OPP. GOALIE |
March 13, 2024 | PG [6] at KEL [5] (OT) | Thornton | Ravensbergen/Young | Kykkanen |
March 15, 2024 | PG [6] at VIC [1] | Thornton | Young | Holt |
March 16, 2024 | PG [10] at VIC [4] | Valis | Young | Krauss |
March 17, 2024 | PG [6] at VAN [3] | Funk | Ravensbergen | Hutchison |
March 22, 2024 | PG [9] at KAM [2] | Shtrom | Young | Edmonstone/Sanche |
COUGARS UPCOMING SCHEDULE
DATE | TIME (PDT) | OPPONENT | VENUE |
March 23, 2024 | 6:00pm | vs Kamloops Blazers | CN Centre |
March 29, 2024 | 7:00pm | Game 1 – Playoffs vs TBD | CN Centre |
March 30, 2024 | 6:00 pm | Game 2 – Playoffs vs TBD | CN Centre |
TBD | TBD | Game 3 – Playoffs at TBD | TBD |
TBD | TBD | Game 4 – Playoffs at TBD | TBD |
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Oct. 20/2023 – at Prince George (7-1 PG)
Dec. 30/2023 – at Kamloops (4-1 PG)
Feb. 4/2024 – at Prince George (5-3 PG)
Feb. 16/2024 – at Prince George (7-1 PG)
Feb. 17/2024 – at Kamloops (2-1 KAM/SO)
Feb. 23/2024 – at Kamloops (5-1 PG)
Mar. 22/2024 – at Kamloops (9-2 PG)
Mar. 23/2024 – at Prince George
2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Oct. 22/2022 – at Kamloops (4-3PG/OT)
Nov. 26/2022– at Prince George (4-1 KAM)
Dec. 16/2022 – at Prince George (6-5 KAM/OT)
Dec. 17/2022 – at Prince George (4-3 KAM/OT)
Dec. 30/2022 – at Kamloops (4-2 KAM
Dec. 31/2022 – at Prince George (10-6 PG)
Feb. 11/2023 – at Kamloops (5-4 KAM)
Mar. 24/2023 – at Kamloops (7-2 PG)
Mar. 25/2023 – at Kamloops (3-2 PG/SO)
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS
Goals (67): Zac Funk
Assists (80): Riley Heidt
Points (121): Zac Funk
PIMS (122): Aiden Foster
Plus/Minus (+54): Zac Funk
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON GOALTENDING LEADERS
Wins (25): Joshua Ravensbergen
Save % (.907): Joshua Ravensbergen
Goals Against Average (2.48) – Joshua Ravensbergen
Shutouts (6): Joshua Ravensbergen
COUGARS CAREER MILESTONES WITHIN REACH:
Hudson Thornton – 195 career points (5 away from 200)
Riley Heidt – 195 career assists (5 away from 200)
WHO’S HOT
Ondrej Becher has points in 18 consecutive games (12-27-39)
Zac Funk has points in 13 consecutive games (16-14-30)
Riley Heidt has points in 7 of 8 games (2-12-14)
Hudson Thornton has points in 4 of last 5 games (3-6-9)
TONIGHTS STORYLINES & STATS
1 GAME LEFT: The Cougars enter tonight with a 48-15-1-3 record (100 points) on the season through 67 games which has won the BC Division and leads the Western Conference. The Cats are 24-7-1-1 at home and 24-8-0-2 on the road this season. A win tonight secures them first place in the Western Conference
ZIEMMER IS IN: Cougars sniper and LA Kings prospect Koehn Ziemmer will returns to the Cougar line-up this weekend against the Kamloops Blazers. Ziemmer was side-lined since November 27th when he suffered a lower-body injury.
32 + 17 + 27 = 100: On Sunday, March 17th, Terik Parascak became the sixth Cougar in history to reach the 100-point plateau. Parascak becomes the third Cougar on the current roster to reach 100 points (Riley Heidt, Zac Funk).
THIS TEAM: On Saturday, March 16th, the Prince George Cougars won their 46th game of the season which marks them as the winningest team in PG Cougars history. The 2016-17 club won 45 games which was the previous record.
BC DIVISION CHAMPIONS: For the first time since 2017 and for the second time in franchise history, the Prince George Cougars were crowned BC Division champions on Saturday, February 24th after a 6-5 shootout win over the Kelowna Rockets.
AGAINST THE BC DIVISION: The Cougars enter tonight’s contest against the Blazers with a 25-4-0-2 record against the BC division and are 39-12-1-3 against the Western Conference.
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
WHEN: Saturday, March 23rd – 6:00 pm
WHERE: CN Centre – Prince George, BC
LISTEN: 94.3 The Goat
WATCH: WHL Live