Game Preview | Dec. 8 | @ Prince George Cougars

Prince George, BC – The Victoria Royals road trip moves north for its fourth game, in Prince George against the Cougars. This will be the third of eight games this season against the Cougars, with Prince George taking the first two meetings in Victoria back in September. Puck drop set for 7:00 PM at the CN Centre in Prince George.

BEST OF BC

The Prince George Cougars (#1) and Victoria Royals (#2) represent the top two teams in the BC division standings so far this season. Both teams enter the contest on three game win streaks, and have won four of their last five games. The Royals will aim to get revenge for their earlier season home losses to the Cougars.

VICTORIA’S LAST GAME

A high scoring affair between the Victoria Royals and Seattle Thunderbirds saw the Royals take a 5-4 win on the road in Seattle. Just four minutes into the game Jeremy Hanzel scored a powerplay goal to give the Thunderbirds the 1-0 lead, but two goals in 17 seconds from Dawson Pasternak and Ben Riche sent the Royals to the first intermission with a 2-1 lead. Pasternak would add his second of the game with the second period’s lone goal, and 27 seconds into the third period Reggie Newman increased the lead to 4-1. Four minutes later, a second goal from Jeremy Hanzel briefly cut the lead to 2, before Austin Zemlak scored the 5-2 goal and rebuilt the 3 goal lead. Sawyer Mynio and Gracyn Sawchyn would both score in the final five minutes of the game to make things interesting, but the Royals hung on to win 5-4 with Braden Holt making 32 saves in the win.

THE LAST TIME THESE TWO MET

PRINCE GEORGE

These two teams last faced off on September 29th in Victoria for the Royals home opening weekend.

30 seconds into the first period, Austin Zemlak’s first of the year made it 1-0 Royals. In the second, the Royals didn’t wait around to make it 2-0, as Tanner Scott scored 48 seconds into the period. A pair of second period goals from Riley Heidt sent us to the final period tied 2-2. Terik Parascak gave the Cougars their first lead of the game just one minute into the third period. Carlin Dezainde’s short handed goal put the Cougars ahead 4-2 and would stand as the game winning goal. With three minutes left in the game, Cole Reschny cut the lead to one, but Carlin Dezainde would score his second of the game into the empty net to secure the 5-3 Cougars win. Braden Holt got the start for the Royals making 27 saves.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

PRINCE GEORGE

• Riley Heidt is currently the WHL points leader with 53 points thus far this season. He’s picked up nine points in his last three games, 26 over his last 10. He’s had eight points in 2two games against the Royals this season.
• Zac Funk is the WHL goals leader with 30, five ahead of second-place Jagger Firkus. He comes into this game red hot with hat-tricks in two of his last three games, but was held pointless the last time the Cougars and Royals played.

VICTORIA

• Keaton Verhoeff made his WHL debut against Seattle, and was a +1 in the high scoring affair. He’ll look to build off that debut with a strong performance against Prince George.
• Austin Zemlak had a three-point night against the Thunderbirds, with a goal and two assists. The Royals former 1st round pick (ninth Overall) in the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft is having a breakout year, already having doubled his previous career highs in goals and assists.

SEASON RECORDS

vs COUGARS

• Sept. 29 v. PG •11-2 Loss
• Sept. 30 v. PG • 5-3 Loss
• Dec. 08 @ PG • 7:00 pm
• Dec. 09 @ PG • 6:00 pm
• Feb. 09 @ PG • 7:00 pm
• Feb. 10 @ PG • 6:00 pm
• Mar. 15 v. PG • 7:05 pm
• Mar. 16 v. PG • 6:05 pm

LAST 5 GAMES

ROYALS

• 5-4 W @ Seattle (12-05-2023)
• 6-3 W @ Kamloops (12-03-2023)
• 4-1 W @ Kamloops (12-01-2023)
• 3-2 L v. Kamloops (11-29-2023)
• 6-1 W v. Kamloops (11-28-2023)

COUGARS

• 4-0 W @ Portland (12-03-2023)
• 6-3 W @ Spokane (12-02-2023)
• 4-1 W @ Tri-City (12-01-2023)
• 4-3 L v. Everett (11-28-2023)
• 3-1 W v. Everett (11-27-2023)

ROYALS UPCOMING SCHEDULE

• Dec. 8 @ PG • 7:00 pm
• Dec. 9 @ PG • 6:00 pm
• Dec. 15 v. TRI • 7:05 pm
• Dec. 16 v. TRI • 6:05 pm
• Dec. 27 @ VAN • 7:00 pm

WATCH AND LISTEN

Radio broadcast

Royals games will be broadcast on 91.3 FM the Zone this season with Marlon Martens calling all of the action.

Online video stream

All Royals games will be available on WHL Live.  WHL Live is available to fans anywhere in the world, providing high-quality streaming of WHL games on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV platforms, via mobile with iOS and Android, and on web using Safari or Google Chrome web browsers. Visit watch.chl.ca for complete details and subscription options.