Cougars Host Royals for Highly Anticipated Teddy and Toque Toss Night
Published on December 9, 2023 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release
Tonight, inside a packed house at the CN Centre, the Prince George Cougars host the Victoria Royals for their annual Teddy & Toque Toss night.
The Cats are coming off a 5-3 setback to the Royals last night at the CN Centre. Zac Funk spearheaded the Cougar offence with his league-leading 31st and 32nd goals of the season and also added an assist.
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Sep. 29/2023 - at Victoria (11-2 PG)
Sep. 30/2023 - at Victoria (5-3 PG)
Dec. 8/2023 - at Prince George (5-3 VIC)
Dec. 9/2023 - at Prince George
Feb. 9/2024 - at Prince George
Feb. 10/2024 - at Prince George
Feb. 15/2024 - at Victoria
Feb. 16/2024 - at Victoria
2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Nov. 18/2022 - at Victoria (9-1 PG)
Nov. 19/2022 - at Victoria (5-2 PG)
Feb. 3/2023 - at Prince George (8-1 PG)
Feb. 4/2023 - at Prince George (4-2 PG)
Feb. 25/2023 - at Victoria (6-5 PG/OT)
Mar. 10/2023 - at Victoria (8-3 PG)
Mar. 11/2023 - at Victoria (6-3 PG)
Mar. 17/2023 - at Prince George (7-1 PG)
Mar. 18/2023 - at Prince George (7-6 VIC/SO)
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS
Goals (32): Zac Funk
Assists (40): Riley Heidt
Points (55): Riley Heidt
PIMS (52): Aiden Foster
Plus/Minus (+21): Terik Parascak
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON GOALTENDING LEADERS
Wins (11): Ty Young
Save % (.937): Joshua Ravensbergen
Goals Against Average (1.83) - Joshua Ravensbergen
Shutouts (5): Joshua Ravensbergen
COUGARS CAREER MILESTONES WITHIN REACH:
Viliam Kmec - 49 career assists (1 away from 50)
Terik Parascak - 44 career points (6 away from 50)
Hudson Thornton - 44 career goals (6 away from 50)
Carlin Dezainde - 148 games played (2 away from 150)
Keaton Dowhaniuk - 188 games played (12 away from 200)
WHO'S HOT
Zac Funk has points and goals in 9 consecutive games (16-3-19)
Riley Heidt has multi-point games in 7 of his last 9 games
Terik Parascak has points in 5 of his last 6 games (1-9-10)
Hudson Thornton has points in 8 of his last 9 games (1-11-12)
TONIGHTS STORYLINES & STATS
29 DOWN: The Cougars enter tonight with a 21-8-0-0 record (42 points) on the season through 29 games which leads the BC Division, Western Conference, and Western Hockey League. The Cats are 11-4-0-0 at home and 10-3-0-0 on the road so far this season.
AGAINST THE WEST: The Cougars enter tonight's contest against the Royals with a 14-6-0-0 record against Western Conference opponents and are 8-3 against the BC Division.
CHL TOP TEN: The Cougars were ranked 2nd in the CHL Top 10 - Week 10. Having lost Los Angeles Kings prospect Koehn Ziemmer to an ankle injury for the foreseeable future at the start of the week, Prince George showed its resilience and the depth of its club by winning road games against Tri-City (4-1), Spokane (6-3) and Portland (4-0). 20-year-old Zac Funk continued his incredible start to the season, scoring 10 points (9G-1A) in the Cougars' four games last week, including a pair of hat-tricks.
ALL ABORD THE HEIDT TRAIN: Cougars forward Riley Heidt has dazzled for his team in 2023-2024. Heidt enters tonight with recording at least a point in 25 of the 27 games he has played. On Friday, November 24th against the Lethbridge Hurricanes, the Saskatoon, SK product recorded his 200th career point in the WHL. He is just the ninth Cougar in franchise history to hit that milestone.
DEZAINDE RETURNS: Prince George returns a key contributor to their lineup this weekend in 19-year-old Carlin Dezainde. Dezainde was sidelined since October with an upper-body injury. Before the injury, Dezainde played 11 games this season and has amassed 14 points (5-9-14).
ZAC ATTACK: Cougar forward and 20-year-old Zac Funk has had a memorable 29 games to his final junior hockey season. 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 four hat-tricks which leads the Western Hockey League. Entering tonight's game against Victoria, Funk owns 32 goals and is second in league scoring.
THE SUPER ROOKIE: Cougar rookie sensation Terik Parascak has surprised many in 2023-2024. Parascak currently owns 41 points entering tonight's game (22-19-41). Parascak was named the WHL's Rookie of the Month for September/October. Parascak, 17, recorded 29 points (17G-12A) in 14 games to start the season and sits second in WHL scoring behind his teammate Zac Funk, who was named WHL Player of the Month. "It's an honour to win this award," commented Parascak. "It's something that keeps motivating me to get better and hopefully keep producing and most importantly, helping our team win."
ANOTHER SUPER ROOKIE: Cougars' rookie goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen has been incredible this season. The North Vancouver, BC product enters tonight with a 10-2-0-0 record on the season with a 1.83 goals against average and a .937 with a league-leading five shutouts. Ravensbergen is one shutout away from tying Scott Bowles for the franchise record for shutouts in a single season.
WORLD JUNIOR BOUND? Both of Prince George's European players are going to have a crack at representing their respective countries at the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championship in Sweden. Viliam Kmec has been named to Team Slovakia's preliminary roster as he is aiming to represent the Slovaks for the third consecutive season. Ondrej Becher will have the opportunity to represent Czechia. Becher, 19, just missed the cut last season and is hoping to make the club this Christmas Break after the team earned a silver medal in Halifax.
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
TICKETS: HERE
WHEN: Saturday, December 9 at 6:00pm PDT
WHERE: CN Centre- Prince George, BC
WATCH: WHL Live
LISTEN: 94.3 The Goat
Western Hockey League Stories from December 9, 2023
- Wheat Kings Pile up Six, Win Fifth Straight Over Blazers - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Oil Kings Edged by Tigers - Edmonton Oil Kings
- 13,542 Teddy Bears Fly as Hawks Dominate T-Birds 7-2 - Portland Winterhawks
- Warriors Drop Tight Battle Against Blades on Saturday - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Mistelbacher Magic Leads Broncos to Win Over Hurricanes - Swift Current Broncos
- Berge Records First Career Hat-Trick in 5-4 Loss - Regina Pats
- Tastad Notches First Pair of WHL Points, Blades Beat Warriors 4-3 - Saskatoon Blades
- Cougars Host Royals for Highly Anticipated Teddy and Toque Toss Night - Prince George Cougars
- Preview: Americans vs Wild - December 9 - Tri-City Americans
- Game Day Hub: December 9 vs. Seattle - Portland Winterhawks
- Game Day Preview: Game 29 at Edmonton - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Preview: Oil Kings vs. Medicine Hat Tigers - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Americans End Skid by Topping Seattle - Tri-City Americans
- Silvertips Earn 4-1 Victory Over Vancouver on Teddy Bear Toss - Everett Silvertips
- Tigers Take Opener of Home at Home with Edmonton - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Catton, Roulette Each Log Four-Point Nights in 8-5 Loss to Winterhawks - Spokane Chiefs
- Stefan Stars as Hawks Top Chiefs 8-5 - Portland Winterhawks
- Royals Earn Fourth Consecutive Win With 5-3 Victory Over Cougars - Prince George Cougars
- Penalties Hurt Broncos in Loss to Hurricanes - Swift Current Broncos
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