PREVIEW: Cougars Tangle with Wheat Kings Tonight in Brandon

The Prince George Cougars’ eastern road trip continues tonight against the Brandon Wheat Kings at Westoba Place in Brandon. Puck drop is slated for 5:00 pm PDT.

The Prince George Cougars are coming off a 4-0 victory on Sunday afternoon against the Regina Pats at the Brandt Centre. Josh Ravensbergen delivered his second shutout of the season, making 23 saves. Terik Parascak and Zac Funk combined for six points in the win with Parascak compiling two goals and an assist and Funk owned three assists. Koehn Ziemmer and Ondrej Becher also added a goal each in the win.

“I thought the goaltending was excellent, and it’s always great to get the two points,” said Associate Coach Jim Playfair following the win. “I thought he (Ravensbergen) did a really good job of controlling his rebounds and managing the puck. He was calm, he moved the puck well out of his net, and he just handled himself very well.”

The Brandon Wheat Kings enter tonight’s game wtih a 7-6-2-1 record, sit 4th in the Eastern Division, and 6th in the Eastern Conference. Brandon is led offensively by 2025 draft eligible forward Roger McQueen who owns 19 points (10-9-19). Wheat Kings captain and Detroit Red Wings first round pick Nate Danielson has collected eight points (2-6-8) in his first nine games.

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UPTOWN FUNK!:

Cougars 20-year-old forward Zac Funk has been named the WHL’s Player of the Month for September/October.

Funk, 20, recorded 30 points (14G-16A) in 14 games to start the season atop the WHL scoring charts heading into November. Funk’s 14 goals rank third in the WHL, while his 16 assists are good enough for to leave him tied for fourth in the League.

“It’s an honour to be named Player of the Month. This doesn’t happen without my teammates,” Funk humbly said. “We are gelling right now and I think that has really helped with everything and hopefully we keep it going.”

The product of Coldstream, B.C., started the campaign with a bang, named Tempo WHL Player of the Week on September 25 after posting seven points (3G-4A) in two games on opening weekend of the 2023-24 WHL Regular Season.

With a WHL-leading 30 points through the months of September and October, @PGCougars veteran Zac Funk is the WHL Player of the Month!

📰 | https://t.co/O5UjSR4KSx pic.twitter.com/PlQphIOefY

— The WHL (@TheWHL) November 1, 2023

THE SUPER ROOKIE:

Cougars rookie forward Terik Parascak has been 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 today. Parascak’s 17 goals rank first among all WHL skaters.

“It’s an honour to win this award,” commented Parascak. “It’s something that keeps motivating me to get better and hoepfully keep producing and most importantly, helping our team win.”

The product of Lethbridge, Alta., has been the most unstoppable rookie to start the 2023-24 WHL campaign, named WHL Rookie of the Week on three separate occasions.

With a WHL-leading 17 goals through the months of September and October, @PGCougars forward Terik Parascak is the WHL Rookie of the Month! #NHLDraft

📰 | https://t.co/05U37W4RYz pic.twitter.com/a5jFPL8Io6

— The WHL (@TheWHL) November 1, 2023

3 ON THE TREE!

The Prince George Cougars were ranked 3^rd in the CHL’s Week 5 rankings that were released earlier this week. Of the CHL-best 74 goals that the Cougars have scored this season, 26 of them have come on the power play as they have converted on 36.1% (26 of 72) of their man advantages – another mark that stands as the best in the CHL. 20-year-old Zac Funk, who netted his ninth power-play goal of the season this past week, now leads the CHL in that category. Meanwhile, 2024 NHL Draft prospect Terik Parascak added two goals and four points to his season totals over the last seven days. Parascak now leads all CHL skaters with 17 goals and he also sits atop the CHL’s rookie scoring race with 29 points.

Up the ladder we go!

We move to the #3 spot in Week 5 of the #CHLTop10! https://t.co/47Ag5PQcLy

— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) October 31, 2023

THE BERGER:

Cougars rookie goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen was named the WHL’s goaltender of the week after pitching his second shutout of the season against the Regina Pats this past Sunday. Ravensbergen, 16, went 1-0-0-0 with a perfect 0.00 goals-against average, 1.000 save percentage and one shutout this past week. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound puck stopper took to the crease Sunday, October 29, turning aside all 23 shots faced as the Prince George Cougars collected a 4-0 victory over the Regina Pats at the Brandt Centre. The product of North Vancouver, B.C., has enjoyed a quality start to his WHL career, appearing in five games with a record of 3-1-0-0, a 2.48 GAA, .905 SV% and two shutouts.

Rookie netminder Joshua Ravensbergen of the @PGCougars is your WHL Goaltender of the Week!

📰 | https://t.co/lMFs1hAZbo pic.twitter.com/QgauR30R18

— The WHL (@TheWHL) October 30, 2023

 

NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING:

Two Prince George Cougars were listed on NHL Central Scouting’s early-season rankings. CHL leading scorer Terik Parascak, 17, headlines the pair with being a ‘B’ rated skater. The Lethbridge, AB native ranks first among WHL skaters in goals with 17 and paces all rookie skaters with 29 points in 14 games at the time of the rankings being released.

6’6 forward Hunter Laing, 17, earned a rating of a ‘W’ skater which is a new ranking structure this season. The ranking indicates players projected to be six or seventh-round candidates in the upcoming NHL Draft. Laing, from Kelowna, BC, has compiled seven points (2-5-7) in his first 14 games of the season.

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