WHL Prince George Cougars

Game Preview: Cougars at Rockets: 0

Published on January 10, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


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Jan102025

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Game Preview | Cougars at Rockets | 01/10/25

Category: Article January 10, 2025

KELOWNA, BC - Tonight, at Prospera Place, the Prince George Cougars take on the Kelowna Rockets for the first time in 2025 at 7:05 pm.

THE LAST GAME: Jan. 8, 2025 - PG 6 vs VAN 5

PG Goal Scorers: Kmec (2), Heidt, Vaughan, Parascak, Riche

VAN Goal Scorers: Sparks, Leslie, Muranov (2), Lipinski

Goalies: PG: Ravensbergen (26/31 - 60:00) VAN: Smith (28/34- 59:20)

PG PP: 1/5 PK: 2/3 | Shots: PG: 34 / VAN: 31

3 Stars: 1. Riche, PG; 2. Kmec, PG; 3: Muranov, VAN

Noteworthy: Ben Riche netted his first goal as a Prince George Cougar. That goal ended up being the game-winning goal with 45 seconds remaining in the game.

WHO'S HOT:

Riley Heidt has points in 5 consecutive games (5-6-11) 10 of his last 11 (9-8-17)

Terik Parascak has points in 4 of his last 5 (2-6-8) in 14 of his last 18 (7-20-27)

Ben Riche has points in 10 consecutive games (7-9-16)

Borya Valis has points in 5 consecutive games (3-5-8) 10 of his last 13 (7-12-19)

Josh Ravensbergen has won five of his last six starts

Cooper Michaluk has won his last three starts

MILESTONE WATCH

Riley Heidt - 226 career assists (10 away from record PG & VIC)

Koehn Ziemmer - 113 career goals (8 away from Cougars record)

Jett Lajoie - 98 career games played (2 away from 100)

Borya Valis - 195 career points (5 away from 200)

Viliam Kmec - 90 career assists (19 away from 100)

Van Eger - 89 career games played (11 away from 100)

Josh Ravensbergen - 46 career wins (5 away from 50)

Aleksey Chichkin - 93 career games played (7 away from 100)

Ben Riche - 47 career goals (3 away from 50)

A LOOK AHEAD:

January 10th - @ Kelowna Rockets - 7:05 pm PDT

January 11th - @ Kamloops Blazers - 6:00 pm PDT

January 17th - @ Spokane Chiefs - 7:05 pm PDT

January 18th - @ Everett Silvertips - 6:05 pm PDT

January 24th - vs Brandon Wheat Kings - 7:00 pm PDT

January 25th - vs Kamloops Blazers - 6:00 pm

January 28th - vs Swift Current Broncos - 7:00 pm

January 31st - vs. Tri-City Americans - 7:00 pm

February 1st - vs. Tri-City Americans - 6:00 pm

February 4th - at Tri City Americans - 7:05 pm

February 7th - at Kelowna Rockets - 7:05 pm

February 8th - at Kamloops Blazers - 6:00 pm

THE LAST GAME vs KEL: Dec. 17, 2024 - PG 5 vs KEL 3

PG Goal Scorers: Danis, Carels, Kmec (2), Parascak

KEL Goal Scorers: Cristall (2), Calhoon

Goalies: PG: Ravensbergen (17/20 - 60:00) KEL: Stoesser (29/33 - 59:47)

PG PP: 1/1 PK: 1/1 | Shots: PG: 34 / KEL: 20

3 Stars: 1. Cristall, KEL; 2. Kmec, PG; 3: Heidt, PG

Noteworthy: Viliam Kmec reached the 30 plus point plateau for the third consecutive season after scoring twice in the victory over the Rockets.

SEASON SERIES LEFT: 02/07 at KEL, 02/25 at PG, 02/26 at PG

NOTED (Team Highlights vs KEL)

The Cougars and Rockets meet for the 37th time in the last five seasons in their regular season history...Prince George holds a 19-16-1-1 overall record. The Cougars are 9-2-0-1 in the last eleven meetings, dating back to the 2023-24 regular season.

NOTED (Player Highlights vs KEL)

-Riley Heidt owns 34 points (6-28-34) in 35 career games against Kelowna

-Koehn Ziemmer owns 30 points (15-15-30) in 32 career games against Kelowna

-Terik Parascak has 22 points (9-13-22) in 12 career games against Kelowna

- Viliam Kmec owns 20 points (7-13-20) in 32 games against Kelowna

-Josh Ravensbergen is a career 7-2 against Kelowna

CATS ARE HOT: The Cougars enter Friday's contest having won eight of their last nine games. The Cats enter January after their season-best month of December, sporting an 8-1-0-0 record. The Cougars sit atop the BC Division and are second in the Western Conference.

THE PRICE IS RICHE: On Wednesday, January 8th, the Prince George Cougars acquired sniper Ben Riche (05) from the Saskatoon Blades in exchange for Hunter Laing, Luke Dumas, a first-round pick in 2026, and a fifth-round pick in 2028. Riche has had a monster season, owning 54 points (23-31-54) in 37 games played before joining PG. In his debut on Wednesday against Vancouver, Riche netted his first goal as a Cougar which resulted being the game winning goal

MAKING MOVES: On Thursday, January 9th, Prince George acquired forward Cole Peardon from the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round pick. Peardon, a former first-round pick, owns five points (1-4-5) in 23 games. On Tuesday, January 7th, the Cougars acquired 6'5 defenceman Aleksey Chichkin (05) from the Regina Pats in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2027. The Vancouver, BC native owns seven points (3-4-7) in 33 games this season.

CATS DO BC: Entering tonight's battle against Kelowna, the Cougars are 14-2-0-1 against the BC Division. The Cougars have outscored their BC division foes 80-50, and are nearly connecting at 30% on the power-play (25.9%).

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics

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