Ravensbergen Reigns Supreme as Cougars Earn Four Point Weekend over Royals
VICTORIA, BC – The Prince George Cougars are off and running in the second half of the WHL season. The Cats picked up a weekend sweep of the Victoria Royals, winning 2-1 at the Save on Foods Memorial Centre.
Josh Ravensbergen was the difference in the win, making 37 saves on 38 shots. 19 of those stops came in the opening period. Prince George received their offence from both Hunter Laing and Aiden Foster which proved to be enough for the visitors.
Victoria supplied all the pressure in the opening period and ended up getting rewarded and started the scoring. Teydon Trembecky fired in his 15th marker of the season at 5:13. The story of the opening period, however, was Josh Ravensbergen who was stellar, making 19 saves on 20 shots. Those 20 shots were the most the Cougars have allowed this season.
Despite a little bit of penalty trouble from the Cougars in the second period, they were able to find the equalizer. It was courtesy of Calgary Flames prospect Hunter Laing (10) at 5:45 who powered in on a breakaway and shoved it by Jayden Krauss to make it 1-1. The goal went under review for several minutes, and the call remained a goal. A few moments later at 9:49, Aiden Foster (3), in his 100th WHL game, put the Cougars ahead with a laser of a wrist shot from the right circle to make it 2-1. In the final seconds of the second, Josh Ravensbergen made a massive save with the right pad on a backdoor pass to keep the game 2-1 in favour of the Cougars.
In the third, the Cougars did a tremendous job in the third to hold the fort and hold on to gather four points, with a 2-1 victory. Josh Ravensbergen put together another tremendous period, making 8 saves on 8 shots. He finished the evening with 37 saves.
Stats & Standouts
- Hunter Laing scored his 10th goal of the year and now owns back to back seasons with ten tallies.
- Carson Carels picked up a pair of helpers in the win; he now ranks 3rd among rookie skaters in assists.
- Josh Ravensbergen earned his 18th win of the season, ranking tied for 1st in the WHL in wins.
They Said It…
Assistant Coach Carter Rigby on the win
What’s Next?
The trip concludes for Prince George on New Year’s Eve when they take on the Seattle Thunderbirds at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington. Prince George then returns to the CN Centre on Friday, January 3rd and 4th against Seattle.
Next Game: Tuesday, Dec. 31 at Seattle | 6:05 pm
Next Home Game: Friday, Jan. 3 vs Seattle | 7:00 pm | TICKETS
