PREVIEW: Cougars Begin Four Games in Five Nights Tonight in Kelowna

KELOWNA, BC – Tonight, the Prince George Cougars begin a four-game road swing as they battle the Kelowna Rockets for the final time in the regular season at 7:05 pm.

The Prince George Cougars collected points in their 13^th consecutive game with a 6-3 victory over the Vancouver Giants, Saturday at the CN Centre. Ondrej Becher and Zac Funk led the way offensively for Prince George both scoring two goals, and Josh Ravensbergen won his 24^th game of the season, making 13 saves on 16 shots.

 

PG GOAL SCORERS: Becher, Becher, Heidt, Funk, Funk, Danis

GOALIE: Ravensbergen – 13/16 (.812)

PP: 1/4

PK: 2/2

COUGARS LAST FIVE RESULTS, Record: 4-0-1-0

DATE	RESULT	GWG	PG GOALIE	OPP. GOALIE
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
March 8, 2024	PG [5] vs VAN [3]	Parascak	Ravensbergen	Mirwald
March 9, 2024	PG [6] vs VAN [3]	Funk	Ravensbergen	Mirwald/Hutchison

 

COUGARS UPCOMING SCHEDULE

DATE	TIME (PDT)	OPPONENT	VENUE
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
March 17, 2024	4:00pm	at Vancouver Giants	Langley Events Centre
March 22, 2024	7:00pm	at Kamloops Blazers	Sandman Centre

2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Oct. 3/2023 – at Prince George (3-2 PG)

Oct. 4/2023 – at Prince George (8-1 PG)

Oct. 13/2023 – at Kelowna (5-4 KEL)

Nov. 18/2023 – at Kelowna (5-4 PG)

Jan. 12/2024 – at Prince George (5-2 PG)

Jan. 13/2024 – at Prince George (3-2 KEL/SO)

Feb. 24/2024 – at Kelowna (5-4 PG/SO)

Mar. 17/2024 – at Vancouver

2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Sep. 30/2022 – at Prince George (6-3 PG)

Oct. 1/2022 – at Prince George (5-1 KEL

Nov. 9/2022 – at Kelowna (8-6 KEL)

Jan. 10/2023 – at Kelowna (3-0 PG)

Feb. 7/2023 – at Prince George (5-1 PG)

Feb. 8/2023 – at Prince George (7-2 PG)

Feb. 10/2023 – at Kelowna (9-2 PG)

Mar. 8/2023 – at Kelowna (6-2 PG)

2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS

Goals (63): Zac Funk

Assists (73): Riley Heidt

Points (109): Zac Funk

PIMS (115): Aiden Foster

Plus/Minus (+49): Zac Funk

2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON GOALTENDING LEADERS

Wins (24): Joshua Ravensbergen

Save % (.911): Joshua Ravensbergen

Goals Against Average (2.36) – Joshua Ravensbergen

Shutouts (6): Joshua Ravensbergen

COUGARS CAREER MILESTONES WITHIN REACH:

Zac Funk – 98 career assists (2 away from 100)

Ondrej Becher – 79 career assists (1 away from 80)

Hudson Thornton – 186 career points (14 away from 200)

WHO’S HOT

Zac Funk has points in 8 straight games (12-7-19)

Riley Heidt has points in 10 of his last 11 games (7-16-23)

Ondrej Becher has points in 7 of his last 8 games (5-9-14)

Hudson Thornton has points in 9 of his last 10 games (3-10-13)

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6 GAMES REMAIN: The Cougars enter tonight with a 43-15-1-3 record (90 points) on the season through 60 games which has won the BC Division and leads the Western Conference. The Cats are 24-7-1-1 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).

CLOSING IN ON MORE HISTORY: With six games remaining on the Cougar regular season schedule, both Zac Funk and Riley Heidt are closing on becoming the new single-season point leaders in PG Cougar history. Funk (109 points) and Heidt (107 points) are closing in on Quinn Hancock’s record where he owned 112 points in 1997-98.

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 24^th after a 6-5 shootout win over the Kelowna Rockets.

AGAINST THE BC DIVISION: The Cougars enter tonight’s contest against the Rockets with a 20-4-0-2 record against the BC division and are 34-12-1-3 against the Western Conference.

THORNTON HITS THE 200 CLUB: On Friday, March 8^th,  Captain Hudson Thornton will suit up for 200^th 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 1-2 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 23 rankings. Prince George (1), Saskatoon (5), Portland (6), Everett (7), and Moose Jaw (10). The Cougars have been named in the CHL Top 10, 22 of 23 weeks.

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