PREVIEW: Cougars Visit Blazers to Begin Two-Game Road Swing
KAMLOOPS, BC – Tonight, at the Sandman Centre, the Prince George Cougars do battle with the Kamloops Blazers.
The Prince George Cougars earned their sixth consecutive home victory with a convincing 5-1 win over the Seattle Thunderbirds, Tuesday at the CN Centre. Zac Funk led the way offensively scoring twice, and Josh Ravensbergen earned his 21st win of the season, making 20 saves on 21 shots.
PG GOAL SCORERS: Heidt, Funk, Dezainde, Funk, Parascak
GOALIE: Ravensbergen 20/21 (.952)
PP: 2/3
PK: 7/8
COUGARS LAST FIVE RESULTS, Record: 4-0-0-1
DATE | RESULT | GWG | PG GOALIE | OPP. GOALIE |
February 10, 2024 | PG [9] vs VIC [6] | Valis | Ravensbergen/Young | Holt |
February 16, 2024 | PG [7] vs KAM [1] | Dezainde | Ravensbergen | Ernst/Sanche |
February 17, 2024 | PG [1] at KAM [2] (SO) | Keller (SOW) | Young | Sanche |
February 19, 2024 | PG [8] vs SEA [1] | Dumanski | Ravensbergen | Ratzlaff/Michnik |
February 20, 2024 | PG [5] vs SEA [1] | Funk | Ravensbergen | Ratzlaff |
COUGARS UPCOMING SCHEDULE
DATE | TIME (PDT) | OPPONENT | VENUE |
February 23, 2024 | 7:00pm | at Kamloops Blazers | Sandman Centre |
February 24, 2024 | 6:00pm | at Kelowna Rockets | Prospera Place |
March 1, 2024 | 7:00pm | vs Spokane Chiefs | CN Centre |
March 2, 2024 | 6:00pm | vs Spokane Chiefs | CN Centre |
March 8, 2024 | 7:00pm | vs Vancouver Giants | CN Centre |
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Oct. 20/2023 – at Prince George (7-1 PG)
Dec. 30/2023 – at Kamloops (4-1 PG)
Feb. 4 /2024 – at Prince George (5-3 PG)
Feb. 16/2024 – at Prince George (7-1 PG)
Feb. 17/2024 – at Kamloops (2-1 KAM/SO)
Feb. 23/2024 – at Kamloops
Mar. 22/2024 – at Kamloops
Mar. 23/2024 – at Prince George
2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Oct. 22/2022 – at Kamloops (4-3 PG/OT)
Nov. 26/2022 – at Prince George (4-1 KAM)
Dec. 16/2022 – at Prince George (6-5 KAM/OT)
Dec. 17/2022 at Prince George (4-3 KAM/OT)
Dec. 30/2022 – at Kamloops (4-2 KAM)
Dec. 31/2022 – at Prince George (10-6 PG)
Feb. 11/2023 – at Kamloops (5-4 KAM)
Mar. 24/2023 – at Kamloops (7-2 PG)
Mar. 25/2023 – at Prince George (3-2 PG/SO)
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS
Goals (53): Zac Funk
Assists (64): Riley Heidt
Points (95): Riley Heidt, Zac Funk
PIMS (110): Aiden Foster
Plus/Minus (+42): Zac Funk
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON GOALTENDING LEADERS
Wins (21): Joshua Ravensbergen
Save % (.920): Joshua Ravensbergen
Goals Against Average (2.13) – Joshua Ravensbergen
Shutouts (6): Joshua Ravensbergen
COUGARS CAREER MILESTONES WITHIN REACH:
Zac Funk – 199 career points (1 away from 200)
Hudson Thornton – 195 career games played (5 away from 200)
Ty Young – 38 career wins (2 away from 40)
WHO’S HOT
Carlin Dezainde has points in 10 of 11 games (10-4-14)
Terik Parascak has points in 12 of 13 games (3-14-16)
Zac Funk has 16 points in his last 7 games (9-7-16)
Riley Heidt has points in 5 consecutive games (4-7-11)
Josh Ravensbergen has won 7 of his last 8 starts
TONIGHTS STORYLINES & STATS
12 GAMES REMAIN: The Cougars enter tonight with a 38-15-0-3 record (79 points) on the season through 55 games which leads the BC Division and the Western Conference. The Cats are 21-7-0-1 at home and 17-8-0-2 on the road this season.
AGAINST THE BC DIVISION: The Cougars enter tonight’s contest against the Blazers with a 16-4-0-2 record against the BC division and are 30-12-0-3 against the Western Conference.
CHL TOP TEN: The WHL is represented by five teams in the Week 20 rankings. Saskatoon (1), Prince George (6), Portland (7), Everett (8), and Swift Current (10). The Cougars have been named in the CHL Top 10, 17 of 18 weeks.
We have some shuffling in the #CHLTop10 this week! pic.twitter.com/gq3QIqOxGH
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) February 21, 2024
X MARKS THE SPOT: On Saturday, February 17th, the Cougars clinched a playoff spot for the third consecutive season. Prince George is one of four teams thus far in the WHL to earn the ‘x’ beside their name (Portland, Everett, Saskatoon).
THIS IS 50: Zac Funk netted his 50th and 51st goals of the season last night. That makes Funk just the third PG Cougar in history to reach that plateau (Quinn Hancock, 97-98 and Todd Fiddler, 14-15). Funk is now at 53 goals and is two goals shy of being the team’s franchise leader in goals in a single season.
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.
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
WHEN: Friday, February 23th – 7:00 pm
WHERE: Sandman Centre – Kamloops, BC
LISTEN: 94.3 The Goat
WATCH: WHL Live