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WHL Prince George Cougars

Game Preview: Cougars vs. Rockets

November 15, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


PRINCE GEORGE, BC - Tonight, at the CN Centre, the Prince George Cougars continue their season-longest home stand as they battle their division rival Kelowna Rockets at 7:00 pm.

THRU 19: The Prince George Cougars enter tonight with a 11-4-3-2 record (27 points) after nineteen games. The Cats are 6-0-3-2 at home and 5-4-0-0 on the road this season.

LAST GAME RECAP: On Sunday, November 10th, the Prince George Cougars secured their third consecutive win with a 5-4 overtime victory over the Vancouver Giants at the CN Centre. Koehn Ziemmer put together his fourth consecutive multi-goal game which included the overtime winner. Lee Shurgot, Jett Lajoie, and Hunter Laing also supplied singles in the win. Cooper Michaluk earned his first win as a Cougar, making 20 saves.

WHL POW: After an incredible week, collecting seven goals in three games, Koehn Ziemmer was named the Tempo WHL Player of the Week. The Cougars alternate captain is enjoying a projected career-best season that's seen him pot 17 goals and seven assists for 24 points in 13 games. He leads the Cougars in goals and is tied for second in goals and power-play goals among all WHL skaters. He's currently on a five-game point streak that's seen him snap up 11 goals and two assists.

LEONARD TO PG: On Thursday, October 31, the Cougars acquired defenceman Fraser Leonard (06) from the Calgary Hitmen in exchange for Drew Peterson (06) and a 2025 sixth-round selection. Leonard, 18, joins the Cougars after playing 59 games with the Hitmen and Saskatoon Blades. In those 59 games, the Cochrane, AB product owns four goals and five assists. In 2021, the 6'2 right-handed shot blue-liner was selected in the fourth round by Saskatoon at 68th overall.

THE 300 CLUB: On Saturday, October 27th, Riley Heidt became the first Prince George Cougar in team history to reach the 300-point plateau. The Saskatoon, SK product owns 93 goals and 215 assists in 237 games.

HOME COOKING: The Prince George Cougars have not been beaten in regulation at the CN Centre during the regular season since January 2024. The Cats' last regulation loss in the regular season on home ice occurred on January 20, 2024, against the Portland Winterhawks. This season, Prince George is 6-0-3-2 at the CN Centre.

NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING: Three Prince George Cougars have been named to NHL Central Scouting's Preliminary List. Goaltender Josh Ravensbergen and forwards Jett Lajoie and Aiden Foster were three Prince George Cougars named to the list. In total, 55 WHL players were named to the list. Ravensbergen was named an 'A' rating, which indicates the North Vancouver, BC product as a potential first-round selection. For Lajoie and Foster, they have them named a 'C' rating, which classifies the duo as a possible fourth or fifth-round pick.

RAVENSBERGEN TO CHL ROSTER: Cougar goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen has been named to Team CHL for the first edition of the CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota. The draft-eligible netminder enters tonight as the WHL's league leader in wins with six. The Prospects Challenge is a two-game series between the CHL and USA Hockey's National Development Program (NTDP). The first game of the new event will take place Tuesday, November 26th, in London, ON, and the second contest will be Wednesday, November 27, in Oshawa, ON.

CHL TOP 10 RANKINGS: In the seventh week of the CHL Top 10 Power Rankings, the Prince George Cougars are ranked at number four. This marks the seventh consecutive week Prince George has been listed in the Canadian Hockey League's Top 10 rankings.

BIG BAD BORYA: Cougar 20-year-old forward Borya Valis has been on a tear to start his final season of junior hockey. The Denver, CO product enters tonight in the top ten in league scoring. Valis owns 29 points (10-19-29) in 18 games. Valis was acquired in January of 2024 from the Cougars from the Regina Pats. On Saturday, October 27th, Valis collected his 100th career assist.

ZOOMIN ZIEMMER: Koehn Ziemmer enters tonight as one of the hottest scorers in the WHL. The LA Kings prospect enters tonight with four consecutive multi-goal games. The product of Mayerthorpe, AB has tallied fifteen times this season.

HE'S PLUS WHAT!?: Cougar over-age and import blue-liner Viliam Kmec has been a staple on the Cougar blue-line to begin the 2024-25 season. A signed prospect of the Vegas Golden Knights, Kmec owns a +20 rating which ranks third among all WHL skaters. On top of that +18, Kmec owns 21 points in his first 18 games of the season (3-18-21) which ranks fourth among WHL blue-liners.

27/13 CHASING HISTORY: Veteran forwards and NHL prospects Riley Heidt and Koehn Ziemmer are on history watch. For Ziemmer, he currently sits at 108 goals which is 12 behind current Cougars' record holder Chase Witala (120). For Heidt, he is also on track for history. Heidt is 20 assists away from eclipsing Mark Morrison's all-time Cougars record (VIC & PG) who owned 235.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Once again, the Prince George Cougars' special teams have been strong to start the season. The Cats PK opened with eight consecutive kills at home before allowing a goal. Entering today against the Kelowna Rockets, the Cougars are fifth in the WHL at 81.7% on the PK. Prince George also leads in the WHL in short-handed goals with four. The power-play for Prince George has also been connecting consistently. The PP is tops in the WHL at 29.2% and is first in the WHL in goals for with 21.

MILESTONE WATCH:

Riley Heidt - 93 career goals (7 away from 100)

Riley Heidt - 215 career assists (20 away from all-time record PG & VIC)

Koehn Ziemmer - 196 games played (6 away from 200)

Koehn Ziemmer - 108 career goals (13 away from all-time Cougar record)

Viliam Kmec - 198 career games played (2 away from 200)

Hunter Laing - 92 career games played (8 away from 100)

Terik Parascak - 88 career games played (12 away from 100)

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

TICKETS: HERE

WHERE: CN Centre - Prince George, BC

WHEN: Friday, November 15 @ 7:00 pm

LISTEN: 94.3 The Goat

WATCH: WHL Live

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Western Hockey League Stories from November 15, 2024


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