Game Preview: Cougars at Vees
Published on January 1, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release
PENTICTON, BC - The Prince George Cougars kick off 2026 with a late afternoon battle against the Penticton Vees at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Puck drop is at 4:00 pm.
vs. VEES: Tonight marks the second meeting of the season between the Prince George Cougars and Penticton Vees. The Vees won the season series opener in Penticton back on December 17th. The two teams will meet again in under a week on January 6th and 7th at the CN Centre.
LAST GAME: 5-3 Loss at Kamloops Blazers: The Prince George Cougars dropped a 5-3 decision to the Kamloops Blazers on Tuesday, December 30th. Aiden Foster scored twice for the Cougars and Brock Souch also added a tally. Terik Parascak was also a big contributor to the offence, picking up three helpers. Alexander Levshyn made 30 saves on 34 shots in the setback.
2025-2026 REGULAR SEASON SERIES:
December 17/2025 - at Penticton (5-2 PEN)
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:
January 3/2026 - vs Calgary
January 6/2026 - vs Penticton
January 7/2026 - vs Penticton
January 10/2026 - vs Everett
January 11/2026 - vs Everett
January 16/2026 - at Kamloops
January 17/2026 - at Kelowna
2025-2026 REGULAR SEASON LEADERS:
Goals (19) - Terik Parascak
Assists (28) - Brock Souch, Kooper Gizowski
Points (43) - Kooper Gizowski, Terik Parascak
Penalty Minutes (58) - Aiden Foster
Plus/Minus (+11) Brock Souch
Wins (16) - Josh Ravensbergen
Goals Against Average (2.50) - Josh Ravensbergen
Save Percentage (.921) - Josh Ravensbergen
Shutouts (2) - Josh Ravensbergen
LAST FIVE GAMES:
December 30/2025 - at Kamloops (5-3 KAM)
December 28/2025 - vs Victoria (3-2 PG/OT)
December 27/2025 - vs Victoria (6-1 VIC)
December 17/2025 - at Everett (3-2 EVT/OT)
December 15/2025 - at Penticton (5-2 PEN)
REGULAR SEASON MILESTONE WATCH:
Bauer Dumanski is 5 points away from 100 career points
Lee Shurgot is 1 point away from 50 career points
Terik Parascak is 10 goals away from 100 career goals
Carson Carels is 5 games away from 100 career games
Kooper Gizowski is 10 points away from 150 career points
Shaun Rios is 2 goals away from 30 career goals
Arsenii Anisimov is 7 games away from 100 career games
WHO'S HOT:
Terik Parascak has points in 11 of 13 games (8-10-18); 13 of his last 15 (11-12-23)
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 9 of 13 games (3-11-14)
Brock Souch has points 11 of 16 games (6-12-18)
Aiden Foster has points in 3 straight games (2-2-4)
COUGARS NEWS AND NOTES:
THRU 35: The Prince George Cougars enter tonight with a 23-11-1-0 record (47 points) on the season after 35 games. The Cougars are 12-5-0-0 at home and 11-6-1-0 on the road. The Cats posted a 6-3-1-0 record in the month of December. The Cougars own the WHL's top power-play, going 42-124 (33.9%). As for the penalty kill, the Cats ranks second in the WHL at 82.8%.
OH CANADA: Goaltender Josh Ravensbergen and defenceman Carson Carels are with Team Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Minnesota. This marks the first time in team history two Cougars are on the same Team Canada World Junior roster. Ravensbergen headed 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 that was 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.
WHL TOP PROSPECTS: Defenceman Carson Carels will be one of the 40 skaters to participate in the WHL Top Prospects game on February 18th at the Langley Events Centre. Carels will be one of the blue-liners for the Western Conference. More names will be announced leading up to the Top Prospects Game.
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).
ROAD WARRIORS: Tonight's matchup against the Blazers will mark the Cougars 19th road game of the season. The Cats own an impressive 11-6-1-0 record away from CN Centre. Tonight marks the second time this season they visit the Penticton Vees. The Cougars own a winning percentage of .639 which ranks first in the BC Divison. Kooper Gizowski leads all Cougars in scoring on the road with eight.
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.
RIOS TO PG: On November 26th, the Cougars claimed 2005-born forward Shaun Rios off 20-year-old WHL Waivers from the Wenatchee Wild. At the time of joining the Cougars, Rios owned 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.
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.
Western Hockey League Stories from January 1, 2026
- Vees Battle Back for OT Victory over Cougars - Penticton Vees
- Rockets Set for Home-and-Home Battle with Blazers - Kelowna Rockets
- Zemlak's Two Goals Leads Oil Kings over Rebels - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Wheat Kings Stymied by Hot Goaltender in Loss to Blades - Brandon Wheat Kings
- T-Birds Fall in Wenatchee - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Game Preview: Cougars at Vees - Prince George Cougars
- Game Preview: Vees vs Cougars - Penticton Vees
- Oil Kings Kick off 2026 with Matchup against Rebels - Edmonton Oil Kings
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