Game Preview: Cougars vs Thunderbirds
January 3, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release
PRINCE GEORGE, BC - Tonight, the Prince George Cougars return to the CN Centre for the first time in nearly a month (Dec. 7/24) and for the first time in 2025 as they take on the Seattle Thunderbirds at 7:00 pm.
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THE LAST GAME: Dec. 31, 2024 - PG 6 at SEA 4
PG Goal Scorers: Groening, Sopiarz, Heidt (2), Foster, Parascak
SEA Goal Scorers: Parmar, Cootes, Pakkala, Mathies
Goalies: PG: Michaluk (27/31 - 60:00) SEA: Ratzlaff (32/37 - 59:05)
PG PP: 0/2 PK: 3/4 | Shots: PG: 38 / SEA: 31
3 Stars: 1. Dunn, SEA; 2. Lemire, PG; 3: Lovsin, SEA
Noteworthy: The Cougars earned their fifth consecutive victory. Riley Heidt owned three points in the win, doing so for the sixth time this season. Aiden Foster found the game-winning goal for the second consecutive game.
MILESTONE WATCH:
Riley Heidt - 221 career assists (15 away from record PG & VIC)
Riley Heidt - 248 career games played (2 away from 250)
Koehn Ziemmer - 113 career goals (8 away from Cougars record)
Jett Lajoie - 94 career games played (6 away from 100)
Borya Valis - 188 career points (12 away from 200)
Viliam Kmec - 88 career assists (12 away from 100)
Van Eger - 89 career games played (11 away from 100)
Josh Ravensbergen - 44 career wins (6 away from 50)
A LOOK AHEAD:
January 3rd - vs. Seattle Thunderbirds - 7:00 pm PDT
January 4th - vs. Seattle Thunderbirds - 6:00 pm PDT
January 7th - vs. Vancouver Giants - 7:00 pm PDT
January 8th - vs. Vancouver Giants - 6:00 pm PDT
January 10th - @ Kelowna Rockets - 7:05 pm PDT
January 11th - @ Kamloops Blazers - 6:00 pm PDT
January 17th - @ Spokane Chiefs - 7:05 pm PDT
January 18th - @ Everett Silvertips - 6:05 pm PDT
January 24th - vs Brandon Wheat Kings - 7:00 pm PDT
January 25th - vs Kamloops Blazers - 6:00 pm
January 28th - vs Swift Current Broncos - 7:00 pm
January 31st - vs. Tri-City Americans - 7:00 pm
SEASON SERIES LEFT vs SEA: 01/03 in PG, 01/04 in PG
NOTED (Team Highlights vs SEA)
The Cougars and Royals meet for the 13th time in the last five seasons in their regular season history...Prince George holds a 7-5-0-0 overall record. The Cougars are 6-0 in the last six meetings, dating back to the 2023-24 regular season. The last Cougars loss vs SEA was 10/28/22.
NOTED (Player Highlights vs SEA)
-Riley Heidt owns 18 points (8-10-18) in 12 career games against Seattle
-Terik Parascak owns 12 points (3-9-12) in 6 career games against Seattle
-Since being a member of the Cougars, Borya Valis has 7 points (2-5-7) in 6 career games against Seattle
- Koehn Ziemmer has 7 points (5-2-7) in 7 career games at Seattle
-Josh Ravensbergen is a career 4-0 against Seattle
CATS ARE HOT: The Cougars enter Friday's contest having won five consecutive games, their longest win streak of the regular season thus far. The Cats enter January after their season-best month of December, sporting an 8-1-0-0 record. The Cougars currently sit atop of the BC Division and second in the Western Conference.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER: Entering tonight's battle against Seattle, the Cougars are 5-3-2-1 against the US Division. The Cougars penalty kill against their opponents south of the border is an impressive 87.2% (41/47).
WHL GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: After stopping 65 of 67 shots against the Victoria Royals on December 27th and 28th, Josh Ravensbergen has been named the WHL's Goaltender of the Week. The draft-eligible goaltender had incredible statistics, owning a 0.96 goals against average, a .970 save percentage, and two first star honours. Ravensbergen enters tonight against Seattle tied in wins in the WHL with 18.
LET TWENTY-SEVEN COOK: Riley Heidt posted three points in the 6-4 win over the Thunderbirds on New Year's Eve. With that performance, he now owns points in six of his last seven games (6-3-9) and 13 of his last 15 (9-14-23). The Cougars' all-time points and assists leader sits with 43 points this season (17-26-43) and is closing in on 250 games in the WHL. In the 248 games Heidt has played, he owns 323 points (102-221-323).
THE KID: Rookie defenceman Carson Carels picked up two assists in the win over Victoria on Saturday, December 28th. With those assists, the Cypress River, MB product is third among WHL rookie defenceman in assists (16). On the season as a whole, Carels owns 20 points (4-16-20) in 30 games played.
HOME COOKING: The Prince George Cougars have been no short of terrific at the CN Centre. The Cats have suffered just one regulation loss in the regular season at home since January 21, 2024. This season, Prince George is 10-1-3-2 at the CN Centre. In the 2023-24 campaign, the Cats finished the regular season at CN Centre with a 25-7-1-1 record.
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