Game Preview: Cougars at Royals
WHL Prince George Cougars

Game Preview: Cougars at Royals

Published on March 20, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


VICTORIA, BC - The Prince George Cougars conclude the regular season this weekend as they visit the Victoria Royals in two games that have large playoff implications.

When: Friday, March 20, 2026

Puck Drop: 7:00 pm

Cougars Record: 42-22-2-0 (86 Points)

Cougars Last Game: A 3-2 shootout win over the Kamloops Blazers at the CN Centre on Tuesday, Mar. 17

Western Conference: 3rd

BC Division: 2nd

Prince George Cougars Roster Breakdown (Birth Year):

2005-born players (3) - Dumanski, Gizowski, Seitz

2006-born players (7) - Souch, Ashe, Parascak, Vaughan, Ravensbergen, Levshyn, Sobry

2007-born players (6) - Foster, Yakutsenak, Shurgot, Lajoie, Anisimov, Fisher

2008-born players (7) - Kozicky, Lemire, Finnegan, Cahill, Carels, Johnston, Funk

2009-born players (1) - Hajt

Royals Record: 28-29-6-3 (65 Points)

Royals Last Game: A 5-2 loss to the Everett Silvertips on Tuesday, March 17

Western Conference: T-8th

BC Division: 5th

Victoria Royals Roster Breakdown (Birth Year):

2005-born players (3) - Wilson, Newman, Woodward

2006-born players (8) - Eskit, Nelson, Young, Moore, Fryer, Massey, Cooper, Pilon

2007-born players (6) - Silver, Brown, Peterson, Matthews, Runtso, Danyleyko

2008-born players (5) - Stewart, McCarthy, Schofield, Waltze, Vauhkonen

2009-born players (3) - McKamey, Perreault, Badry

Last Time Out:

Prince George earned their 42nd win of the season and also tied a season-long six-game win streak

Josh Ravensbergen made 34 saves and was named the game's first star

Terik Parascak and Koy Funk scored in regulation for Prince George

Dmitri Yakutsenak and Aiden Foster scored the shootout goals

With no power plays and a perfect 1-for-1 on the penalty kill, the Cougars now rank first in the WHL in both the power play and penalty kill

Closing In:

Carson Carels is two points away from the most points by a Cougars defenceman in team history

Carels (73 points) trails former captain Hudson Thornton, who collected 74 points in the 2023-24 season

The Weekend Ahead

With playoffs just seven days away, there is still no matchup locked up for the Cougars

The Cats continue to battle with the Kelowna Rockets for third place in the Western Conference

The Cougars will face either Kamloops, Spokane, or Seattle in the first round

Kelowna plays a home-and-home with Penticton this weekend

For Victoria, they enter tonight tied for the final playoff spot with the Portland Winterhawks (65 points)

Seattle is also in the mix for one of the final spots, as they own 66 points

On the Other Side

Victoria has points in four of their last 10 games

The Royals are 15-12-3 on home ice this season

The last two meetings between the Cougars and Royals in Victoria were in early December, and both games went beyond regulation time

20-year-old forward Roan Woodward leads all Royals in points this season (55)

In goal, Ethan Eskit has missed the last few games with an injury; however, if he is back in the pipes this weekend, he owns a 22-20-5-3 record

After Tonight:

The Cougars will conclude the double-header and regular season against the Victoria Royals on Saturday, March 21 at 6:00 pm

Next Game: Saturday, March 21 at Victoria - 6:00 pm

Next Home Game: GAME 1 WHL PLAYOFFS vs. TBD - 7:00 pm | TICKETS!

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from March 20, 2026


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