PREVIEW: Cougars Battle Chiefs to Complete Season Series
PRINCE GEORGE BC – Tonight, at the CN Centre, the Prince George Cougars host the Spokane Chiefs to conclude the weekend set and season series at 6:00 pm.
The Prince George Cougars clawed their way back in the third period to earn a point, dropping a 5-4 OT decision to the Spokane Chiefs. Zac Funk carried the load offensively for the Cats, accumulating three points in the set-back. Hunter Laing and Viliam Kmec also added tallies.
PG GOAL SCORERS: Funk, Funk, Kmec, Laing
GOALIE: Ravensbergen – 19/24 (.791)
PP: 2/4
PK: 1/1
COUGARS LAST FIVE RESULTS, Record: 4-0-1-0
| DATE | RESULT | GWG | PG GOALIE | OPP. GOALIE |
| February 19, 2024 | PG [8] vs SEA [1] | Dumanski | Ravensbergen | Ratzlaff/Michnik |
| February 20, 2024 | PG [5] vs SEA [1] | Funk | Ravensbergen | Ratzlaff |
| February 23, 2024 | PG [5] at KAM [1] | Parascak | Young | Sanche |
| February 24, 2024 | PG [6] at KEL [5] (SO) | Becher (SOW) | Ravensbergen | Kykkanen |
| Mar 1, 2024 | PG [4] vs SPO [5] (OT) | Crampton | Ravensbergen | Cowan |
COUGARS UPCOMING SCHEDULE
| DATE | TIME (PDT) | OPPONENT | VENUE |
| March 2, 2024 | 6:00pm | vs Spokane Chiefs | CN Centre |
| March 8, 2024 | 7:00pm | vs Vancouver Giants | CN Centre |
| March 9, 2024 | 6:00pm | vs Vancouver Giants | CN Centre |
| March 13, 2024 | 7:05pm | at Kelowna Rockets | Prospera Place |
| March 15, 2024 | 7:05pm | at Victoria Royals | Save on Foods Memorial Arena
|
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Dec. 2/2023 – at Spokane (6-3 Prince George)
Jan. 26/2024 – at Spokane (4-3 Spokane)
Mar. 1/2024 – at Prince George (5-4 Spokane/OT)
Mar. 2/2024 – at Prince George
2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Nov. 4/2022 – at Spokane (7-2 Prince George)
Nov. 5/2022 – at Spokane (5-3 Prince George)
Mar. 3/2023 – at Prince George (5-2 Prince George)
Mar. 4/2023 – at Prince George (5-4 Spokane/OT)
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS
Goals (58): Zac Funk
Assists (68): Riley Heidt
Points (102): Zac Funk
PIMS (115): Aiden Foster
Plus/Minus (+45): Zac Funk
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON GOALTENDING LEADERS
Wins (22): Joshua Ravensbergen
Save % (.913): Joshua Ravensbergen
Goals Against Average (2.23) – Joshua Ravensbergen
Shutouts (6): Joshua Ravensbergen
COUGARS CAREER MILESTONES WITHIN REACH:
Hudson Thornton – 198 career games played (2 away from 200)
Hudson Thornton – 186 career points (14 away from 200)
Zac Funk – 96 career assists (4 away from 100)
WHO’S HOT
Carlin Dezainde has points in 13 of 14 games (10-7-17)
Terik Parascak has points in 15 of 16 games (5-18-23)
Zac Funk has points in 9 of 10 games (14-9-23)
Riley Heidt has points in 7 of 8 games (5-11-16)
TONIGHTS STORYLINES & STATS
9 GAMES REMAIN: The Cougars enter tonight with a 40-15-1-3 record (84 points) on the season through 58 games which has won the BC Division and leads the Western Conference. The Cats are 21-7-1-1 at home and 19-8-0-2 on the road this season.
DC GETS FUNKY: 20-year-old sniper Zac Funk has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals. Funk, 20, paces the WHL in goals (58), power-play goals (26), and plus-minus (+45). Funk is the third 20-year-old in the last two seasons to sign an NHL deal (Chase Wheatcroft, 2023, DAL – Jaxsen Wiebe, 2023, ANA).
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 US DIVISION: The Cougars enter tonight’s contest against the Chiefs with a 14-8-1-1 record against the US division and are 31-12-1-3 against the Western Conference.
THE NEW SCORING KING: On February 24th, Zac Funk became the Cougars single-season goal leader, surpassing Quinn Hancock’s record that was set in 1997-98. Funk now owns 56 goals on the campaign with 10 games remaining.
FUNKYTOWN AGAIN: On Tuesday, February 20th, Zac Funk became the PG Cougars single-season leader in power-play goals with 23. Funk surpassed alumnus Chase Wheatcroft who netted 22 power-play tallies in 2022-23.
PRE-GAME INTERVIEW WITH GM & HEAD COACH MARK LAMB
PRE-GAME INTERVIEW WITH CAPTAIN HUDSON THORNTON
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
WHEN: Friday, March 2nd – 6:00 pm
WHERE: CN Centre – Prince George, BC
LISTEN: 94.3 The Goat
WATCH: WHL Live
