PREVIEW: Cougars Battling for Top of Western Conference; Host Giants This Weekend
PRINCE GEORGE BC – Tonight, at the CN Centre, the Prince George Cougars host the Vancouver Giants in their final home double-header of the regular season. Tonight’s game is slated for 7:00 pm.
The Prince George Cougars put together an incredible third-period comeback, which resulted in a 5-4 overtime win. Riley Heidt netted the OT winner for the Cougars and goaltender Ty Young made 18 saves in the victory.
PG GOAL SCORERS: Danis, Dezainde, Kmec, Funk, Heidt
GOALIE: Young – 18/22 (.818)
PP: 2/6
PK: 4/6
COUGARS LAST FIVE RESULTS, Record: 4-0-1-0
DATE | RESULT | GWG | PG GOALIE | OPP. GOALIE |
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 |
March 1, 2024 | PG [4] vs SPO [5] (OT) | Crampton | Ravensbergen | Cowan |
March 2, 2024 | PG [5] vs SPO [4] (OT) | Heidt | Young | Michaluk |
COUGARS UPCOMING SCHEDULE
DATE | TIME (PDT) | OPPONENT | VENUE |
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 | 7:00pm | at Victoria Royals | Save on Foods Memorial Arena |
March 16, 2024 | 6:00pm | at Victoria Royals | Save on Foods Memorial Arena |
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Nov. 14/2023 – at Prince George (5-0 PG)
Nov. 15/2023 – at Prince George (6-1 VAN)
Nov. 17/2023 – at Vancouver (5-0 PG)
Dec. 16/2023 – at Vancouver (9-2 PG)
Feb. 2/2024 – at Vancouver (3-2 VAN)
Mar. 8/2024 – at Prince George
Mar. 9/2024 – at Prince George
Mar. 17/2024 – at Vancouver
2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Oct. 7/2022 – at Vancouver (5-4 PG/SO)
Oct. 21/2022 – at Vancouver (4-1 PG)
Nov. 12/2022 – at Prince George (5-4 VAN)
Nov. 13/2022 – at Prince George (6-4 PG)
Dec. 4/2022 – at Vancouver (6-3 PG)
Feb. 24/2023 – at Vancouver (5-4 PG/OT)
Feb. 28/2023 – at Prince George (6-0 PG)
Mar. 1/2023 – at Prince George (6-2 VAN)
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS
Goals (59): Zac Funk
Assists (69): Riley Heidt
Points (103): 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 (2.32) – Joshua Ravensbergen
Shutouts (6): Joshua Ravensbergen
COUGARS CAREER MILESTONES WITHIN REACH:
Hudson Thornton – 199 career games played (1 away from 200)
Hudson Thornton – 185 career points (15 away from 200)
Zac Funk – 96 career assists (4 away from 100)
WHO’S HOT
Zac Funk has points in 6 straight games (8-5-13)
Riley Heidt has points in 8 of his last 9 games (6-12-18)
Ondrej Becher has points in 5 of his last 6 games (3-7-10)
Hudson Thornton has points in 8 consecutive games (2-9-11)
8 GAMES REMAIN: The Cougars enter tonight with a 41-15-1-3 record (86 points) on the season through 59 games which has won the BC Division and leads the Western Conference. The Cats are 22-7-1-1 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 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 BC DIVISION: The Cougars enter tonight’s contest against the Giants with a 18-4-0-2 record against the BC division and are 32-12-1-3 against the Western Conference.
THORNTON HITS THE 200 CLUB: Cougars Captain Hudson Thornton will suit up for 200th WHL game tonight. The franchise leader among defenceman in points, assists, and goals, is the fourth Cougar to reach the 200-game plateau (Heidt, Dowhaniuk, Funk, Pauls).
ZIEMMER GETTING CLOSE: Cougar forward and Los Angeles Kings prospect Koehn Ziemmer is now 2-3 weeks before returning to game action for the Cougars. Ziemmer suffered a lower-body injury in late November against the Everett Silvertips. He has returned to Prince George and is back on the ice practicing with the team.
CHL TOP TEN: The WHL is represented by five teams in the Week 22 rankings. Prince George (2), Saskatoon (5), Portland (7), Everett (8), and Moose Jaw (10). The Cougars have been named in the CHL Top 10, 21 of 22 weeks.
PRE-GAME INTERVIEW WITH GM & HEAD COACH MARK LAMB
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
WHEN: Friday, March 8th – 7:00 pm
WHERE: CN Centre – Prince George, BC
LISTEN: 94.3 The Goat
WATCH: WHL Live