PREVIEW: Cougars Begin Final Road Trip of First Half in Everett
Tonight, at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, WA, the Prince George Cougars take on the Everett Silvertips at 7:00 pm to kick off their final road swing of the first half of the regular season.
The Prince George Cougars climbed back in the win column with a 1-0 victory over the Victoria Royals on Saturday night at the CN Centre. The Cats were led by rookies Terik Parascak and goaltender Josh Ravensbergen. Parascak scored the Teddy Bear Toss goal which was all the Cats needed to get the win. For Ravensbergen, he collected his sixth shutout of the season, making 16 saves on 16 Victoria shots.
Last night was no short of incredible. The Super Rookies Josh Ravensbergen and Terik Parascak helped us to a big 1-0 win over the Victoria Royals on Teddy & Toque Toss Night!
Presented by @Carlsjrca pic.twitter.com/TRzIGrxAsP
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) December 10, 2023
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Nov. 27/2023 – at Prince George (3-1 PG)
Nov. 28/2023 – at Prince George (4-3 EVT)
Dec. 13/2023 – at Everett
Jan. 7/2024 – at Everett
2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Oct. 8/2022 – at Everett (6-4 EVT)
Dec. 6/2022 – at Everett (5-2 EVT)
Jan. 6/2023 – at Prince George (4-2 EVT)
Jan. 7/2023 – at Prince George (3-1 PG)
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS
Goals (32): Zac Funk
Assists (40): Riley Heidt
Points (55): Riley Heidt
PIMS (52): Aiden Foster
Plus/Minus (+22): Terik Parascak
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON GOALTENDING LEADERS
Wins (11): Ty Young, Joshua Ravensbergen
Save % (.940): Joshua Ravensbergen
Goals Against Average (1.69) – Joshua Ravensbergen
Shutouts (6): Joshua Ravensbergen
COUGARS CAREER MILESTONES WITHIN REACH:
Viliam Kmec – 49 career assists (1 away from 50)
Terik Parascak – 45 career points (5 away from 50)
Hudson Thornton – 44 career goals (6 away from 50)
Carlin Dezainde – 149 games played (1 away from 150)
Keaton Dowhaniuk – 189 games played (11 away from 200)
WHO’S HOT
Zac Funk has points in 9 of 10 games (16-3-19)
Riley Heidt has multi-point games in 7 of his last 10 games
Terik Parascak has points in 5 of his last 6 games (1-9-10)
Hudson Thornton has points in 8 of his last 10 games (1-11-12)
Joshua Ravensbergen owns 6 shutouts in 13 starts
AFTER 30: The Cougars enter tonight with a 22-8-0-0 record (44 points) on the season through 30 games which leads the BC Division, Western Conference, and Western Hockey League. The Cats are 12-5-0-0 at home and 10-3-0-0 on the road so far this season.
AGAINST THE WEST: The Cougars enter tonight’s contest against the Silvertips with a 14-6-0-0 record against Western Conference opponents and are 6-3 against the US Division.
CHL TOP TEN: The Cougars were ranked 3rd in the CHL Top 10 – Week 11. With a pair of home games against the Royals on the schedule this past weekend, the Cougars (22-8-0-0) managed to only score two points out of a possible four. They dropped the first game against Victoria 5-3 on Friday, before coming back and shutting the door on the Royals in a 1-0 shutout victory on Saturday. During their Friday night loss, 20-year-old Zac Funk continued to showcase his scoring ability, nabbing a point on all three (2G-1A) of Prince George’s goals. With 32 goals on the season, no one has more goals in the CHL so far than Zac Funk. On Saturday, rookie netminder Joshua Ravensbergen registered a couple of impressive records with his CHL-leading sixth shutout of the season. By stopping all 16 shots he faced for shutout No. 6 in his 13th start, Ravensbergen not only tied the Cougars’ franchise record for shutouts in a single season, but he also matched the WHL’s all-time rookie record. The 2025 NHL Draft prospect now has a 1.69 GAA and a .940 SV%, which both rank first in the CHL. This week, Ravensbergen and Prince George will aim to keep their place among the CHL’s top-three clubs when they travel to face the Silvertips, the No.9-ranked Wild and the Giants.
RILEY IS ROLLING: Cougars forward Riley Heidt has dazzled for his team in 2023-2024. Heidt enters tonight with recording at least a point in 25 of the 28 games he has played. On Friday, November 24th against the Lethbridge Hurricanes, the Saskatoon, SK product recorded his 200th career point in the WHL. He is just the ninth Cougar in franchise history to hit that milestone.
THE BERGER: Cougars’ rookie goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen has been incredible this season. The North Vancouver, BC product enters tonight with a 10-2-0-0 record on the season with a 1.69 goals against average and a .937 with a league-leading five shutouts. Ravensbergen has tied a WHL record for most shutouts by a rookie goalie with six. The North Vancouver, BC product also tied alumnus Scott Bowles for the teams single-season shutout record.
ZAC ATTACK: Cougar forward and 20-year-old Zac Funk has had a memorable final junior hockey season thus far. The product of Coldstream, BC was the first WHL skater this season to reach the 30-goal mark. On top of that, Funk has netted four hat-tricks which leads the Western Hockey League. Entering tonight’s game against Everett, Funk owns 32 goals and is second in league scoring.
THE SUPER ROOKIE: Cougar rookie sensation Terik Parascak has surprised many in 2023-2024. Parascak currently owns 42 points entering tonight’s game (23-19-41). Parascak was named the WHL’s Rookie of the Month for September/October. Parascak, 17, recorded 29 points (17G-12A) in 14 games to start the season and sits second in WHL scoring behind his teammate Zac Funk, who was named WHL Player of the Month for September/October
WORLD JUNIOR BOUND? Both of Prince George’s European players are going to have a crack at representing their respective countries at the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championship in Sweden. Viliam Kmec has been named to Team Slovakia’s preliminary roster as he is aiming to represent the Slovaks for the third consecutive season. Ondrej Becher will have the opportunity to represent Czechia. Becher, 19, just missed the cut last season and is hoping to make the club this Christmas Break after the team earned a silver medal in Halifax.
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
WHEN: Wednesday, December 13 at 7:00pm PDT
WHERE: Angel of the Winds Arena – Everett, WA
WATCH: WHL Live
LISTEN: 94.3 The Goat
