Cougars Kickstart Five Game Road Swing in Spokane
Published on January 26, 2024 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release
SPOKANE, WA - Tonight, the Prince George Cougars begin three games in three nights along with a five game road swing as they tangle with the Spokane Chiefs at 7:05.
The Prince George Cougars split last weekend with the Portland Winterhawks with the most recent contest resulting in a 2-1 setback. Ondrej Becher had the lone marker for PG, while goaltender Ty Young was terrific, making 25 saves.
PG GOAL SCORERS: Becher
GOALIE: Ravensbergen (21/23, .913)
PP: 0/1
PK: 2/3
COUGARS LAST FIVE RESULTS, Record: 2-2-0-1
DATE RESULT GWG PG GOALIE OPP. GOALIE
January 7, 2024 PG [2] at EVT [4] Miettenen Young Chadwick
January 12, 2024 PG [5] vs KEL [2] Dezainde Young Kykkanen
January 13, 2024 PG [2] vs KEL [3] [SO] Szturc (SOW) Ravensbergen Kykkanen
January 19, 2024 PG [3] vs POR [2] Heidt Ravensbergen Avakyan
January 20, 2024 PG [1] vs POR [2] Buttazzoni Young Avakyan
COUGARS UPCOMING SCHEDULE
DATE TIME (PDT) OPPONENT VENUE
January 26, 2024 7:05 pm at Spokane Chiefs Spokane Memorial Arena
January 27, 2024 6:05 pm at Tri-City Americans Toyota Center
January 28, 2024 4:00 pm at Wenatchee Wild Town Toyota Center
January 30, 2024 7:05 pm at Seattle Thunderbirds accesso ShoWare Center
February 2, 2024 7:00 pm at Vancouver Giants Langley Events Centre
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Dec. 2/2023 - at Spokane (6-3 PG)
Jan. 26/2024 - at Spokane
Mar. 1/2024- at Prince George
Mar. 2/2024 - at Prince George
2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON SERIES
Nov. 4/2022 - at Spokane (7-2 PG)
Nov. 5/2022 - at Spokane (5-3 PG)
Mar. 3/2023 - at Prince George (5-2 PG)
Mar. 4/2023 - at Prince George (5-4 SPO/OT)
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS
Goals (42): Zac Funk
Assists (50): Riley Heidt
Points (76): Zac Funk
PIMS (94): Aiden Foster
Plus/Minus (+33): Zac Funk
2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON GOALTENDING LEADERS
Wins (16): Ty Young
Save % (.923): Joshua Ravensbergen
Goals Against Average (2.15) - Joshua Ravensbergen
Shutouts (6): Joshua Ravensbergen
COUGARS CAREER MILESTONES WITHIN REACH:
Hudson Thornton - 49 career goals (1 away from 50)
Zac Funk - 94 career goals (6 away from 100)
Ondrej Becher - 97 games played (3 away from 100)
Riley Heidt - 197 career games played (3 away from 200)
Oren Shtrom - 148 career games played (2 away from 150)
Borya Valis - 45 career goals (5 away from 50)
WHO'S HOT
Borya Valis has points in 15 of 18 games (8-18-26)
Zac Funk has points in 10 of his last 14 games (11-10-21)
Riley Heidt has points in 9 of his last 13 games (9-10-19)
Terik Parascak has points in 13 of 16 games (4-18-22)
Ondrej Becher has points in 7 of his last 8 games (5-7-12)
Carlin Dezainde has points in 4 of his last 7 games (5-4-9)
TONIGHTS STORYLINES & STATS
44 DOWN, 24 TO GO: The Cougars enter tonight with a 30-13-0-1 record (59 points) on the season through 44 games which leads the BC Division and second in the Western Conference. The Cats are 15-7-0-1 at home and 15-6-0-0 on the road so far this season.
AGAINST THE US DIVISION: The Cougars enter tonight's contest against the Chiefs with a 10-7-0-0 record against the US division and are 22-10-0-1 against the Western Conference.
NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING: Three Prince George Cougars were listed on NHL Central Scouting's mid-season rankings. Terik Parascak, 17, headlines the trio with being the #14 ranked skater. The Lethbridge, AB owns 26 goals and paces all rookie skaters with 60 points in 40 games at the time of the rankings being released. 19-year-old Ondrej Becher enters the rankings for the first time, coming in at #84. Becher is coming off an impressive World Junior tournament, where he accumulated ten points in seven games (3-7-10). Hunter Laing rounds out the Cougars trio at #108. The 6'6 forward owns 13 points in 48 games at the time of the rankings being released.
CHL TOP TEN: The WHL is represented by three teams in the Week 16 rankings. Saskatoon (2), Prince George (4), Everett (7), and Portland (10). The Cougars have been named in the CHL Top 10 15 of the 16 weeks.
BRONZE BECHER: Ondrej Becher and Team Czechia erased a three-goal deficit against Team Finland on January 5th to claim the Bronze Medal at the 2024 World Junior Hockey Championship in Sweden. The Cougar sniper led the Czech's in the bronze medal game offensively, netting a hat trick and accumulating five points in the win. Czechia scored six unanswered goals in the final period to earn the Bronze Medal.
HISTORY CHASING: Cougars' forward and Minnesota Wild prospect Riley Heidt is in striking distance of setting a pair of all-time franchise records. #27 is just four assists from surpassing alumnus Jansen Harkins (168) for the most helpers in franchise history and six points behind Harkins for the most points in franchise history (243). Captain Hudson Thornton is also four points shy of holding the Cougars all-time assists record among defencemen. Dan Hamhuis is the leader with 123.
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN:
WHEN: Friday, January 26th, 2024 - 7:05 pm
WHERE: Spokane Arena - Spokane, WA
LISTEN: 94.3 The Goat
WATCH: WHL Live
Western Hockey League Stories from January 26, 2024
- Lisowsky Pots Two, Blades Handed Shootout Loss from Raiders - Saskatoon Blades
- Wheat Kings Routed by Desperate Hitmen - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Oil Kings Doubled Up In Red Deer - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Cobra Chickens Beat Blades 5-4 in a Shootout in Spectacular Comeback Fashion - Prince Albert Raiders
- Game Day Hub: January 26 at Tri-City - Portland Winterhawks
- Game Day Preview: Game 46 at Moose Jaw - Medicine Hat Tigers
- Preview: Oil Kings at Red Deer Rebels 1.26.24 - Edmonton Oil Kings
- CHL Announces Real Canadian Superstore Freeview Schedule on CHL TV - WHL
- Cougars Kickstart Five Game Road Swing in Spokane - Prince George Cougars
- Warriors, Tigers Square off in Weekend Home-And-Home - Moose Jaw Warriors
- Danielson Settling in with Winterhawks Ahead of Home Debut - Portland Winterhawks
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
