Game Preview: Cougars vs Royals
Published on December 28, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release
PRINCE GEORGE, BC - The Prince George Cougars aim to snap a three game losing streak tonight as they conclude a double-header weekend with the Victoria Royals at 5:00 pm.
vs. ROYALS: Tonight marks the sixth meeting of the season between the Prince George Cougars and Victoria Royals. The Cougars currently sport a 4-1-0-0 record against Victoria in the season series. Over the last five seasons, the Cougars own a 17-4-0-2 record against Victoria at the CN Centre.
LAST GAME: 6-1 Loss vs. Victoria Royals: The Prince George Cougars dropped their third consecutive game with a 6-1 setback to the Victoria Royals at CN Centre on Saturday, December 27th. Corbin Vaughan scored the lone goal for Prince George and Alexander Levshyn made 16 saves on 21 shots. Preston Lewis also came into the game and made 7 saves on 8 shots.
2025-2026 REGULAR SEASON SERIES:
November 11/2025 - vs Victoria (3-1 PG)
November 12/2025 - vs Victoria (4-2 PG)
December 5/2025 - at Victoria (3-2 PG/SO)
December 7/2025 - at Victoria (4-3 PG/OT)
December 27/2025 - vs Victoria (6-1 VIC)
December 28/2025 - vs Victoria
March 20/2026 - at Victoria
March 21/2025 - at Victoria
UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
December 28/2025 - vs Victoria
December 30/2025 - at Kamloops
January 1/2026 - at Penticton
January 3/2026 - vs Calgary
January 6/2026 - vs Penticton
January 7/2026 - vs Penticton
January 10/2026 - vs Everett
2025-2026 REGULAR SEASON LEADERS:
Goals (19) - Terik Parascak
Assists (28) - Brock Souch, Kooper Gizowski
Points (42) - Kooper Gizwoski
Penalty Minutes (50) - 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 27/2025 - vs Victoria (6-1 VIC)
December 17/2025 - at Everett (3-2 EVT/OT)
December 15/2025 - at Penticton (5-2 PEN)
December 13/2025 - vs. KAM (4-1 PG)
December 12/2025 - vs KAM (5-4 PG/SO)
REGULAR SEASON MILESTONE WATCH:
Bauer Dumanski is 6 points away from 100 career points
Lee Shurgot is 2 points away from 50 career points
Kayden Lemire is 1 game away from 100 career games
Terik Parascak is 10 goals away from 100 career goals
Carson Carels is 5 games away from 100 career games
Kooper Gizowski is 11 points away from 150 career points
Shaun Rios is 2 goals away from 30 career goals
Arsenii Anisimov is 9 games away from 100 career games
WHO'S HOT:
Terik Parascak has points in 9 of 11 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 11 games (2-11-13)
Brock Souch has points 10 of 13 games (5-12-17)
Dmitri Yakutsenak has goals in 5 of his last 8 games (5-0-5)
Corbin Vaughan has goals in two straight games (2-0-2)
COUGARS NEWS AND NOTES:
THRU 33: The Prince George Cougars enter tonight with a 22-10-1-0 record (45 points) on the season after 33 games. The Cougars are 11-5-0-0 at home and 11-5-1-0 on the road. The Cats have posted a 5-2-1-0 record in the month of December. The Cougars own the WHL's top power-play, going 41-120 (34.2%). As for the penalty kill, the Cats ranks third in the WHL at 82%.
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 are with Team Canada at the2026 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.
HOME SWEET HOME: Tonight's matchup against the Royals will mark the Cougars 17th home game of the season. The Cats own an impressive 11-5-0-0 record at CN Centre. They enter tonight with wins in seven straight home contests. The Cougars own a winning percentage of .733 which ranks second in the Western Conference. Terik Parascak leads all Cougars in scoring at home with 12 points.
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.
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