WHL Prince George Cougars

Cougars Collide with Rockets to Begin Western Conference Semi-Finals

Published on April 12, 2024 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


PRINCE GEORGE, BC - Tonight, at the CN Centre, the Prince George Cougars tangle with their BC division rival Kelowna Rockets in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Game time is slotted for 7:00 pm. This matchup marks the third time in WHL history that the Cougars and Rockets have met in a playoff series.

The Prince George Cougars secured their first-round win with a four-game sweep of the Spokane Chiefs, with the most recent contest coming in a 3-2 win at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on Wednesday, April 3rd. Viliam Kmec, Koehn Ziemmer, and Zac Funk supplied the Prince George offence, and Ty Young secured his first win of the 2024 Playoffs, making 30 saves.

PG GOAL SCORERS: Kmec, Ziemmer, Funk

GOALIE: Young - 30/32 (.937)

PP: 1/3

PK: 3/3

COUGARS LAST FIVE RESULTS, Record: 5-0-0-0

DATE RESULT GWG PG GOALIE OPP. GOALIE

March 23, 2024 PG [5] vs KAM [2] Becher Ravensbergen Sanche

March 23, 2024 (G1) PG [6] vs SPO [1] Parascak Ravensbergen Cowan

March 24, 2024 PG [7] vs SPO [4] Dezainde Ravensbergen Cowan/Michaluk

April 2, 2024 PG [4] at SPO [2] Thornton Ravensbergen Michaluk

April 3, 2024 PG [3] at SPO [2] Funk Young Cowan

COUGARS UPCOMING SCHEDULE

DATE TIME (PDT) OPPONENT VENUE

April 12, 2024 7:00 pm Game 1 - vs. Kelowna CN Centre

April 13, 2024 6:00 pm Game 2 - vs Kelowna CN Centre

April 16, 2024 7:05 pm Game 3 - at Kelowna Prospera Place

April 17, 2024 7:05 pm Game 4 - at Kelowna Prospera Place

April 19, 2024 7:00 pm Game 4 - vs. Kelowna (IF NEC) CN Centre

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE - PG vs KEL

Apr. 12/2024 - at Prince George

Apr. 13/2024- at Prince George

Apr. 16/2024 - at Kelowna

Apr. 17/2024 - at Kelowna

Apr. 19/2024 - at Prince George* (If NEC)

Apr. 21/2024 - at Kelowna * (If NEC)

Apr. 23/2024 - at Prince George * (If NEC)

2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Oct. 3.2023 - at Prince George (3-2 PG)

Oct. 4/2023 - at Prince George (8-1 PG)

Oct. 13/2023 - at Kelowna (5-4 KEL)

Nov. 18/2023 - at Kelowna (5-4 PG)

Jan. 12/2023 - at Prince George (5-2 PG)

Jan. 13/2023 - at Prince George (3-2 KEL/SO)

Feb. 24/2023 - at Kelowna (6-5 PG/SO)

Mar. 13/2023 - at Kelowna (6-5 PG/OT)

2023-2024 PLAYOFF STATS LEADERS

Goals (4): Terik Parascak

Assists (7): Riley Heidt

Points (8): Zac Funk

Plus/Minus (+4): Keaton Dowhaniuk, Ephram McNutt

2023-2024 PLAYOFF GOALTENDING LEADERS

Wins (3): Joshua Ravensbergen

Save % (.938): Ty Young

Goals Against Average (2.00) - Ty Young

Shutouts (0): Joshua Ravensbergen, Ty Young

WHO'S HOT

Ondrej Becher has points in 23 consecutive games (Incl. Reg Season)

Zac Funk has points in 18 consecutive games

Riley Heidt has points in 12 of his last 13 games (Incl. Reg Season)

Hudson Thornton has points in 6 of last 10 games

PLAYOFF HISTORY vs. KELOWNA

2000 Conf. Quarterfinals (PG Wins 4-1)

2011 Conf. Quarterfinals (KEL Wins 4-0)

TONIGHT: The Cougars enter the Western Conference Semi-Finals for the second consecutive year. The Cougars are coming off a four-game sweep of the Spokane Chiefs in the opening round. PG finished 49-15-1-3 record (102 points) in the regular season which has won the BC Division and Western Conference. The Cats finished 25-7-1-1 at home and 24-8-0-2 on the road this season.

CAPTAIN INKS PROFESSIONAL DEAL: Cougar captain Hudson Thornton has signed a one year contract with the AHL' Hershey Bears, the affiliate to the Washington Capitals. "It's really exciting. It was one of my goals this year to try and earn myself a professional contract and I am super thankful for the opportunity, and will do everything I can to try and make that team next year" Thornton said.

LAING RETURNS: The Cougars have returned draft eligible forward Hunter Laing back to the lineup. Laing has been sidelined since late March due to an upper body injury he sustained against the Vancouver Giants at the Langley Events Centre.

THE BENCH BOSS: For the second consecutive season, Cougars GM & Head Coach Mark Lamb has been named the BC Division nominee for the WHL Coach of the Year. Lamb's 2023-2024 season behind the bench was the most successful regular season in team history.

HEY NOW, YOU'RE AN ALL-STAR: The BC Division's first and second all-start teams featured six Prince George Cougars. Zac Funk, Riley Heidt, and Hudson Thornton cracked the first all-star team while Viliam Kmec, Terik Parascak, and Joshua Ravensbergen were named to the second all-star team.

AGAINST KELOWNA: The Cougars boasted a 6-1-0-1 record against Kelowna in the 2023-2024 regular season, and five of the eight contests were decided by one goal. The most recent clash between the BC division rivals came on March 13th where the Cats won 6-5 in Kelowna, courtesy of a Hudson Thornton overtime winner. The Rockets are coming a six-game series win over the Wenatchee Wild in the Western Conference Quarter-Finals. Draft eligible forward Tij Iginla propelled the Kelowna offence, scoring eight times, which leads the WHL entering the second round. Iginla is also the regining WHL Player of the Week entering round two.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

WHEN: Friday, April 12th- 7:00 pm

WHERE: CN Centre - Prince George, BC

LISTEN: 94.3 The Goat

WATCH: WHL Live

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from April 12, 2024


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