Game Preview: Cougars vs. Blazers
Published on December 12, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release
PRINCE GEORGE, BC - The Prince George Cougars return home for their final two games of the first half as they host the Kamloops Blazers tonight at 7:00 pm. It's night one of Spirit Weekend, and it's also Carson Carels Bobblehead Night. The first 500 kids in attendance will receive a bobblehead of the Cougars' top NHL prospect, and an additional 100 bobbleheads will be raffled off tonight.
vs. BLAZERS: Tonight marks the second meeting of the season between the Prince George Cougars and Kamloops Blazers. This is the second meeting between the Cats and Blazers in PG this season. At the CN Centre in the last five seasons, the Cougars own a 11-5-3-1 record.
LAST GAME: 4-3 Overtime Win at Victoria Royals: The Prince George Cougars collected their third consecutive win with a 4-3 overtime win over the Victoria Royals at Save on Foods Memorial Centre on Sunday, December 7th. Kooper Gizowski, Townes Kozicky, Brock Souch, and Carson Carels scored for Prince George and Josh Ravensbergen earned his eigth straight win, making 25 saves. Prince George went 0-3 on the power-play, while the Royals went 1-4 with the extra man.
2025-2026 REGULAR SEASON SERIES:
November 14/2025 - vs Kamloops (3-2 PG)
December 12/2025 - vs Kamloops
December 13/2025 - vs Kamloops
December 30/2025 - at Kamloops
January 16/2026 - at Kamloops
January 31/2026 - at Kamloops
February 13/2026 - vs Kamloops
February 14/2026 - at Kamloops
March 17/2026 - vs Kamloops
2024-2025 REGULAR SEASON SERIES:
November 1/2024 - at Kamloops (6-3 PG)
November 22/2024 - vs Kamloops (5-3 PG)
December 7/2024 - vs Kamloops (6-3 PG)
January 11/2025 - at Kamloops (6-3 KAM)
January 25/2025 - vs Kamloops (5-2 KAM)
February 8/2025 - at Kamloops (3-2 PG)
February 28/2025 - vs Kamloops (4-2 PG)
March 1/2025 - at Kamloops (4-2 PG)
2025-2026 REGULAR SEASON LEADERS:
Goals (19) - Terik Parascak
Assists (26) - Brock Souch
Points (39) - Terik Parascak
Penalty Minutes (43) - Aiden Foster
Plus/Minus (+11) -Lee Shurgot, 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 9 points away from 100 career points
Lee Shurgot is 4 points away from 50 career points
Kayden Lemire is 6 games away from 100 career games
Terik Parascak is 10 goals away from 100 career goals
Corbin Vaughan is 5 games away from 150 career games
Carson Carels is 5 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 6 of 8 games (1-7-8)
Brock Souch has points 9 straight games (4-9-13)
Dmitri Yakutsenak has goals in 2 of his last 4 games (2-0-2)
THRU 28: The Prince George Cougars enter tonight with a 20-8-0-0 record (40 points) on the season after 28 games. The Cougars are 9-4-0-0 at home and 11-4-0-0 on the road. The Cats have posted a 3-0 record to begin the month of December. The Cougars own the WHL's top power-play, going 37-104 (35.6%). As for the penalty kill, the Cats ranks first in the WHL at 85.4%.
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.
A COUPLE CALL UPS: With Josh Ravensbergen and Alexander Levshyn representing their countries at IIHF events, the Coougars have called up top goaltending prospect Kole Anderosov (10). Anderosov is a signed prospect of the club and was selected in the third round in the 2025 WHL Prospect's Draft. The Campbell River, BC product joined the team on their most recent road trip in Victoria. The Cougars have also added 19-year-old Preston Lewis to the roster. Lewis has played this season with the Devon Xtreme of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL).
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 19 appearances this season, Ravensbergen is 13-6-0-0 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 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 eighth career shutout against Wenatchee on November 28th Josh Ravensbergen ranks third in franchise history in that statistic. He is now tied with Justin Pogge, Ty Edmonds, and Tyler Brennan. Real Cyr is the leader with 14. That shutout by Ravensbergen was his first since December 9/23.
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.
2024-25 SEASON RECAP: The Prince George Cougars wrapped up the 2024-25 campaign with a 41-21-4-2 record (88 points), securing second place in the BC Division and fourth overall in the Western Conference. On home ice, the Cougars were a force, posting the best record in the BC Division and tying for the top mark in the Western Conference with a dominant 24-5-3-2 (53 points), matching the Everett Silvertips. In the 2025 WHL Playoffs, Prince George battled the Portland Winterhawks in a thrilling seven-game opening-round series.
Washington Capitals prospect Terik Parascak led all returning Cougars in scoring with 28 goals and 54 assists in 59 games. Meanwhile, San Jose Sharks first-round pick Josh Ravensbergen delivered an outstanding season in goal, recording 33 wins - the second-most in the WHL.
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.
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