Carels Calls Game in OT as Cougars Down Royals
Published on December 7, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release
VICTORIA, BC - The Prince George Cougars collected their 20th win of the season with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Victoria Royals on Sunday afternoon at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Carson Carels delivered the OT heroics, while Brock Souch, Townes Kozicky (first WHL goal), and Kooper Gizowski added goals for Prince George. Josh Ravensbergen earned his eighth straight win, turning aside 25 shots.
The Royals opened the scoring just 55 seconds in, when Hayden Moore tipped a shot past Ravensbergen, who was without his goalie stick. The Cougars responded at 7:00 as Kooper Gizowski rifled home his 13th of the season, marking his first goal since November 7th in Everett. Victoria restored the lead at 8:45 when Miles Cooper scored short-handed on a breakaway. The Royals took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
In the second period, the Cougars tied the game courtesy of Townes Kozicky, who wired a shot past goaltender Ethan Eskit at 3:41 for his first WHL goal. The Cougars then killed off a lengthy 5-on-3, giving them a boost as the period progressed. The score remained 2-2 after 40 minutes.
In the third, the Cougars grabbed their first lead of the afternoon when Brock Souch redirected a Carson Carels point shot at 5:41 to make it 3-2. After an extended review, the goal was confirmed. Victoria tied the game at 12:35 when Timofey Runsto fired a shot from the blue line through traffic to make it 3-3. For the second straight game, extra time was required.
In overtime, it took just 26 seconds for the Cougars to end it. Carson Carels took a pass from Brock Souch and snapped a perfectly placed shot on the glove side of Eskit, securing Prince George's 20th win of the season.
"To get four points this weekend feels so good," said OT hero Carson Carels. "We battled on this road trip. We took advantage of how mature our group is. We have so many characters in our room and so many character wins, so this feels amazing."
The Cougars now improve to 20-8-0-0.
"It's amazing to reach 20 wins already," added Carels. "Nobody expected us to be where we are at, and we have so much left. When we have the train going, we're going for sure."
The Cougars are back in action on Friday, December 12th, and Saturday, December 13th at CN Centre when they play host to the Kamloops Blazers.
Western Hockey League Stories from December 7, 2025
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