Game Preview: Cougars at Vees
WHL Prince George Cougars

Game Preview: Cougars at Vees

Published on December 17, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


PENTICTON, BC - The Prince George Cougars gear up for the final two road games of the first half of the season which begins tonight against the Penticton Vees at 6:35 pm. This marks the first meeting of the season between the Cougars and the newest WHL franchise.

vs.VEES: Tonight marks the first meeting in WHL history between the Prince George Cougars and the Penticton Vees. The two clubs will clash six times this season which includes three in January.

LAST GAME: 4-1 Win vs Kamloops Blazers: The Prince George Cougars collected their fifth consecutive win with a 4-1 win over the Kamloops Blazers at CN Centre on Saturday, December 13th for Teddy and Toque Toss. Lee Shurgot (Teddy Bear Goal), Kooper Gizowski, Dmitri Yakutsenak, and Arsenii Anisimov scored for Prince George and Alexander Levshyn made saves on 23 shots. Prince George went 1-3 on the power-play, while the Blazers went 0-2 with the extra man.

2025-26 REGULAR SEASON SERIES:

December 17/2025 - at Penticton

January 1/2026 - at Penticton

January 6/2026 - vs Penticton

January 7/2026 - vs Penticton

February 16/2026 - at Penticton

March 10/2026 - vs Penticton

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

December 17/2025 - at Penticton

December 19/2025 - at Everett

December 27/2025 - vs Victoria

December 28/2025 - vs Victoria

December 30/2025 - at Kamloops

January 1/2026 - at Penticton

2025-26 REGULAR SEASON LEADERS:

Goals (19) - Terik Parascak

Assists (28) - Brock Souch

Points (41) - Kooper Gizwoski

Penalty Minutes (48) - Aiden Foster

Plus/Minus (+15) Brock Souch, Arsenii Anisimov

Wins (16) - Josh Ravensbergen

Goals Against Average (2.50) - Josh Ravensbergen

Save Percentage (.921) - Josh Ravensbergen

Shutouts (2) - Josh Ravensbergen

REGULAR SEASON MILESTONE WATCH:

Bauer Dumanski is 7 points away from 100 career points

Lee Shurgot is 2 points away from 50 career points

Kayden Lemire is 4 games away from 100 career games

Terik Parascak is 10 goals away from 100 career goals

Corbin Vaughan is 3 games away from 150 career games

Carson Carels is 5 games away from 100 career games

Kooper Gizowski is 12 points away from 150 career points

Shaun Rios is 3 goals away from 30 career goals

Arsenii Anisimov is 12 games away from 100 career games

WHO'S HOT:

Terik Parascak has points in 9 of 10 games (8-6-14); 11 of his last 13 (11-8-19)

Josh Ravensbergen has won 8 straight games; 10 of his last 11

Carson Carels has points in 6 of 7 games (3-4-7); 8 of his last 10 (3-8-11)

Kooper Gizowski has points in 8 of 10 games (2-11-13)

Brock Souch has points 10 of 11 games (5-12-17)

Dmitri Yakutsenak has goals in 4 of his last 6 games (4-0-3)

COUGARS NEWS AND NOTES:

THRU 30: The Prince George Cougars enter tonight with a 22-8-0-0 record (44 points) on the season after 30 games. The Cougars are 11-4-0-0 at home and 11-4-0-0 on the road. The Cats have posted a 5-0 record to begin the month of December. The Cougars own the WHL's top power-play, going 39-113 (34.5%). As for the penalty kill, the Cats ranks second in the WHL at 84.3%.

TRADE WITH RED DEER: On Monday, December 15, the Cougars traded forward Patrick Sopiarz (08) to the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for a 2026 third round pick and a conditional fourth round pick in 2029. In 79 career games with the Cougars, Sopiarz owned six points (4-2-6).

OH CANADA: Goaltender Josh Ravensbergen and defenceman Carson Carels have been invited to Team Canada's Selection Camp ahead of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Minnesota. Ravensbergen heads to camp with a WHL leading 16 wins and has won eight consecutive games. Ravensbergen was invited this past summer to Canada's National Summer Showcase. For Carels, he is one of two underage (2008-born) defenceman invited to camp. Carels owns 29 points in 28 games and earned the opportunity to play for Team CHL at the CHL/USA Prospects Challenge. Carels is no stranger to Hockey Canada as he won a gold medal at the U18 World Championship and a Bronze at the Hlinka-Gretzky Tournament this past summer.

ROAD WARRIORS: Tonight's matchup against the Vees will mark the Cougars 16th road game of the season. The Cats own an impressive 11-4-0-0 record thus far away from the CN Centre. They enter tonight with wins in three straight road contests. The Cougars own a winning percentage of .733 which ranks second in the Western Conference. Kooper Gizowski leads all Cougars in scoring on the road with 20 points in 15 games (8-12-20).

200 WINS: On Wednesday, December 3rd, General Manager and Head Coach Mark Lamb earned his 200th career win behind the bench as the bench boss for Prince George. Lamb becomes just the second Cougars coach in team history to reach this mark. Ed Dempsey is currently the Cougars' winningest coach with 216 wins. Throughout Lamb's 200 victories showed multiple accolades including a BC Division Crown in 2024, and the WHL's Coach and Executive of the Year in 2023-24.

HOLY MOLY WHAT A GOALIE: On Tuesday, December 2nd, San Jose Sharks prospect Josh Ravensbergen was named the WHL's Goaltender of the Month for November. Ravensbergen posted an 8-2-0-0 record in November, along with a 2.00 goals against average and a .940 save percentage. Through 22 appearances this season, Ravensbergen is 16-6-0-0 with a 2.54 GAA, .920 SV%, and two shutouts. He ranks among the WHL goaltending leaders in wins (T-1st), shutouts (T-1st), GAA (3rd), and SV% (T-3rd.).

A NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER: The Cougars posted a 9-3-0-0 record in 12 games in the month of November. Prince George outscored the opposition 41-26 and went 13-41 on the powerplay (31.7%). To cap off an incredible month, goaltender Josh Ravensbergen was named the league's goaltender of the month.

A BIG ADDITION: On November 26th, the Cougars claimed 2005-born forward Shaun Rios off 20-year-old WHL Waivers from the Wenatchee Wild. Entering tonight's contest, Rios owns seven points in his first 18 games. In 2024-25, the San Jose, CA product compiled 47 points in 42 games. In 2020, Rios was selected second overall in the US Priority Draft by the Tri-City Americans.

NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING: Four Prince George Cougars were named to the National Hockey League's Central Scouting Preliminary Rankings ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft. Carson Carels highlights the quartet after being named an 'A'-rated player, indicating him as a first-round candidate. Kayden Lemire and Dermot Johnston both received 'C' rankings, indicating them as 4th/5th-round candidates. Phoenix Cahill rounds out the four as a 'W'-ranked skater, indicating him as a 6th/7th-round candidate.

THE BERGER: After collecting his eigth career shutout against Wenatchee on November 26th, Josh Ravensbergen ranks third in franchise history in that statistic. He is now ahead of Justin Pogge, Ty Edmonds, and Tyler Brennan. Real Cyr is the leader with 14.

CAPTAIN DUMANSKI: On Thursday, October 2nd, the Cougars named Bauer Dumanski the 31st captain in Prince George Cougars history. Dumanski succeeds Riley Heidt who captained the club in 2024-25. Dumanski is a fifth year blue-liner and has already surpassed the 250 games played mark in the WHL. Supporting Dumanski in his role are Carson Carels, Terik Parascak, and Corbin Vaughan.

DRAFTED: Two Cougars were selected at the 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles, CA. Josh Ravensbergen was chosen in the first round, 30th overall, by the San Jose Sharks. With the pick, he became both the highest-drafted goaltender in Cougars history and the highest-drafted goalie in Sharks history. Aiden Foster was then taken by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the fifth round, 127th overall. Foster is the first Cougar selected by Tampa Bay since Brett Connolly in 2010.

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Western Hockey League Stories from December 17, 2025


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.

OurSports Central