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WHL Prince George Cougars

Cougars Battle Thunderbirds to Begin Three Games in Three Nights

January 5, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


Tonight, in Kent, WA, the Prince George Cougars kick off three games in three nights with a date against the Seattle Thunderbirds at 7:05 pm.

The Prince George Cougars earned their third straight win with a 6-2 win on Wednesday night over the Wenatchee Wild. Zac Funk registered his sixth hat-trick of the season and Riley Heidt also accumulated two tallies. In his Cougar debut, Borya Valis amassed three assists in the win.

PG GOAL SCORERS: Heidt, Shtrom, Heidt, Funk, Funk, Funk

GOALIE: Ravensbergen (26/28, .928)

PP: 0.1

PK: 3/4

COUGARS LAST FIVE RESULTS, Record: 4-1-0-0

DATE RESULT GWG PG GOALIE OPP. GOALIE

December 16, 2023 PG [9] at VAN [2] Buczkowski Ravensbergen Hutchison

December 27, 2023 PG [4] vs EDM [6] Hodnett Ravensbergen/Young Hay

December 28, 2023 PG [3] vs CGY [2] Thornton Young Buenaventura

December 30, 2023 PG [4] at KAM [1] Lajoie Young Sanche

January 3, 2024 PG [6] at WEN [2] Heidt Ravensbergen Hauser/Gee

2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Jan. 5/2024 - at Seattle

Jan. 30/2024 - at Seattle

Feb. 19/2024 - at Prince George

Feb. 20/2024 - at Prince George

2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Oct. 28/2022 - at Prince George (5-4 SEA)

Oct. 29/2022 - at Prince George (4-1 PG)

Nov. 1/2022 - at Seattle (6-3 SEA)

Dec. 13/2022 - at Seattle (8-1 SEA)

2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS

Goals (40): Zac Funk

Assists (48): Riley Heidt

Points (70): Riley Heidt

PIMS (76): Aiden Foster

Plus/Minus (+33): Terik Parascak

2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON GOALTENDING LEADERS

Wins (14): Ty Young

Save % (.927): Joshua Ravensbergen

Goals Against Average (2.07) - Joshua Ravensbergen

Shutouts (6): Joshua Ravensbergen

COUGARS CAREER MILESTONES WITHIN REACH:

Hudson Thornton - 47 career goals (3 away from 50)

Zac Funk - 198 career games played (2 away from 200)

Zac Funk - 92 career goals (8 away from 100)

Keaton Dowhaniuk - 197 career games played (3 away from 200)

Chase Pauls - 194 career games played (6 away from 200)

Borya Valis - 148 career games played (3 away from 150)

Ondrej Becher - 93 games played (7 away from 100)

WHO'S HOT

Zac Funk has points in 6 of his last 7 games (8-6-14)

Riley Heidt has points in 6 consecutive games (7-8-15)

Terik Parascak has points in 9 of 10 games (4-13-17)

Ondrej Becher has points in 3 of his last 4 games (3-4-7)

Joshua Ravensbegren has 13 wins in 20 WHL appearances (12-3)

Ty Young has wins in 3 consecutive starts

TONIGHTS STORYLINES & STATS

37 DOWN: The Cougars enter tonight with a 27-10-0-0 record (54 points) on the season through 37 games which leads the BC Division and the Western Conference. The Cats are 13-6-0-0 at home and 14-4-0-0 on the road so far this season.

PARASCAK DOES IT AGAIN: Rookie forward Terik Parascak has been named the WHL's Rookie of the Month for December. Parascak, 17, recorded 16 points (4G-12A) and a plus-13 rating in 11 games during the month of December. With 54 points (26G-28A) in 36 games, Parascak leads the WHL's rookie scoring race by 18 points. His 26 goals are tied for fifth among all WHL skaters and lead all WHL rookies.

HEIDT SHINES IN DECEMBER: Cougars forward and Minnesota Wild prospect Riley Heidt has been named the WHL's Player of the Month for December. The 5-foot-11, 182-pound centre registered seven multipoint performances during the month of December, highlighted by a five-assist effort Friday, December 15 in a 6-3 win at Wenatchee. Heidt also logged a four-point outing (1G-3A) Friday, December 1 in a 4-1 win at Tri-City along with two three-point games.With 68 points (20G-48A) in 34 games, Heidt leads the entire WHL in scoring. His 48 assists are good for second, while his 21 power-play assists are first in the WHL.

THE NEWEST COUGAR: The Cougars acquired 19-year-old forward Borya Valis from the Regina Pats on Sunday, December 31st. Valis, 19, Valis, a 19-year-old native of Denver, CO, has showcased his offensive prowess with an impressive 33 points in 35 games this season (13-20-33) while playing for Regina in the 2023-2024 season. Standing at 6'2 ‚¬Â³ and possessing a right-handed shot, Valis brings valuable experience, having played in 147 WHL games and amassing a total of 106 points (44-62-106). In his Cougar debut, Valis notched three assists.

WELCOME ABOARD, CHASE PAULS: The Cougars acquired veteran blue-liner Chase Pauls from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on December 27th in exchange for a third-round selection in the 2024 WHL Prospect's Draft. Hailing from Osler, SK, the right-handed blue-liner who stands at 6'5" has had a robust WHL career, suiting up in 190 games and accumulating 55 points (18-37-55) over four seasons."Pauls is a big veteran defensive defenceman that will fit in our group very well," commented GM & Head Coach Mark Lamb. "He is a top penalty killer, defends hard, and makes a good first pass." Pauls recorded an assist in his Cougars debut on Thursday night against the Calgary Hitmen.

CHL TOP TEN: Although they fell in their first game back from the holiday break, the Cougars (26-10-0-0) bounced back by winning a pair of contests to maintain their place in these rankings at No.2 by defeating Calgary (3-2) and Kamloops (4-1). Prince George has now won seven of their last 10 and they have scored four goals or more in four of their last five contests. The Cougars continued to be led by Minnesota Wild prospect Riley Heidt and 20-year-old Zac Funk, who continue to be difference makers for this squad. Heidt extended his point streak to five games (5G-8A over that stretch) and Funk tallied his 37th goal of the season. Funk continues to lead the CHL with 37 goals, while Heidt ranks first in the CHL with 68 points (20G-48A), just three ahead of Funk who has 65 points (37G-28A). This week, the Cougars will travel to the U.S. Pacific Northwest for a tough four-game road trip highlighted by games against Wenatchee, Seattle, No.10-ranked Portland and Everett.

AGAINST THE US DIVISION: The Cougars enter tonight's contest against the Thunderbirds with an 8-4-0-0 record against the US division and are 19-7 against the Western Conference.

THE BERGER: Cougars' rookie goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen has been incredible this season. The North Vancouver, BC product enters tonight with a 13-3-0-0 record on the season with a 2.06 goals against average and a .926 save percentage with a league-leading six shutouts. Ravensbergen has tied a WHL record for most shutouts by a rookie goalie. The North Vancouver, BC product also tied alumnus Scott Bowles for the teams' single-season shutout record.

ZAC ATTACK: Cougar forward and 20-year-old Zac Funk has had a memorable final junior hockey season thus far. The product of Coldstream, BC was the first WHL skater this season to reach the 30-goal mark. On top of that, Funk has netted six hat-tricks which leads the Western Hockey League. Entering tonight's game against Wenatchee, Funk owns 40 goals and is first in league scoring.

BRONZE BECHER: Ondrej Becher is coming back to Prince George with a bronze medal at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Sweden. Becher collected a hat-trick in a come from behind 8-5 victory over Team Finalnd.

O CANADA: Cougars Associate Coach Jim Playfair has returned from Davos, SUI with Team Canada at the Spengler Cup. Playfair and Team Canada finished 2-2 at the highly coveted tournament in Switzerland.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

WHEN: Friday, January 5 at 7:05pm PDT

WHERE: accesso ShoWare Center - Kent, WA

WATCH: WHL Live

LISTEN: 94.3 The Goat

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics



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