Game Preview: Cougars vs. Vees: 01/06/25
Published on January 6, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release
PRINCE GEORGE, BC - The Prince George Cougars continue their five game home-stand tonight against the Penticton Vees at 7:00 pm in a battle for top spot in the BC Division. The Cougars currently lead the division by a single point going into tonight. The Cougars will welcome back some big reinforcements as Joshua Ravensbergen and Carson Carels return to the Cougar lineup.
Prince George Cougars Roster Breakdown (Birth Year)
2005-born players (2) - Dumanski, Gizowski
2006-born players (7) - Souch, Ashe, Parascak, Vaughan, Ravensbergen, Levshyn, Leiws
2007-born players (5) - Foster, Yakutsenak, Shurgot, Lajoie, Anisimov
2008-born players (7) (Kozicky, Lemire, Finnegan, Cahill, Carels, Johnston, Johnson)
2009-born players (2) - Hajt, Bratton
Penticton Vees Roster Breakdown (Birth Year)
2005-born players (4) - Birnie, Evers, Danis, Stevenson
2006-born players (11) - Wehmann, Valiant, Johnson, Alstead, Petersen, Weber, Michaud, Pederson, Tastad, McCallum, Reyelts
2007-born players (3) - Kvasnicka, Norrie, Stone
2008-born players (4) - Alger-East, Toninato, Burick, Kamas
2009-born players (1) - DeMars
Prince George Cougars:
Record: 23-12-2-0 (48 points)
BC Division: 1st Place
Western Conference: 2nd Place
Power-Play: 33.1% (1st WHL)
Penalty Kill: 81.6% (4th WHL)
Average Age: 17.9
Penticton Vees:
Record: 20-9-4-3 (47 Points)
BC Division: 2nd Place
Western Conference: 3rd Place
Power-Play: 28.7% (7th WHL)
Penalty-Kill: 81.3% (5th WHL)
Average Age: 18.62
vs. VEES: Tonight marks the third meeting of the season between the Prince George Cougars and the Penticton Vees. The last time the Vees played the Cougars was on New Year's Day which saw the Vees win a 6-5 overtime victory where they came from behind in the third period. The contest tonight between the two clubs will be the first at the CN Centre in Western Hockey League History.
LAST GAME: 4-2 Loss vs Calgary Hitmen: The Prince George Cougars dropped a 4-2 decision to the Calgary Hitmen on Saturday, January 3rd at the CN Centre. Brock Souch and Lee Shurgot scored the Prince George goals and Alexander Levshyn made 39 saves and was named the games third star. The Cougars power-play finished 0-3 while Calgary was 3 for 8 with the extra man.
2025-2026 REGULAR SEASON SERIES:
December 17/2025 - at Penticton (5-2 PEN)
January 1/2026 - at Penticton (6-5 PEN/OT)
January 6/2026 - vs Penticton
January 7/2026 - vs Penticton
February 16/2026 - at Penticton
March 10/2026 - vs Penticton
UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
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
January 18/2026 - at Vancouver
January 23/2026 - vs Vancouver
2025-2026 REGULAR SEASON LEADERS:
Goals (19) - Terik Parascak
Assists (29) - Brock Souch, Kooper Gizowski
Points (45) - Kooper Gizowski, Terik Parascak
Penalty Minutes (58) - Aiden Foster
Plus/Minus (+89 Brock Souch, Arsenii Anisimov
Wins (16) - Josh Ravensbergen
Goals Against Average (2.50) - Josh Ravensbergen
Save Percentage (.921) - Josh Ravensbergen
Shutouts (2) - Josh Ravensbergen
LAST FIVE GAMES:
January 3/2026 - vs Calgary (4-2 CGY)
January 1/2026 - at Penticton (6-5 PEN/OT)
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)
REGULAR SEASON MILESTONE WATCH:
Bauer Dumanski is 5 points away from 100 career points
Terik Parascak is 10 goals away from 100 career goals
Terik Parascak is 8 assists away from 150 career assists
Carson Carels is 5 games away from 100 career games
Kooper Gizowski is 8 points away from 150 career points
Arsenii Anisimov is 5 games away from 100 career games
WHO'S HOT:
Terik Parascak has points in straight games (0-5-5); 4 of his last 5 (0-6-6)
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 10 of 14 games (4-11-15)
Brock Souch has points 12 of 17 games (7-13-20)
Aiden Foster has points in 3 of 4 games (2-2-4)
COUGARS NEWS AND NOTES:
THRU 37: The Prince George Cougars enter tonight with a 23-12-2-0 record (48 points) on the season after 37 games. The Cougars are 12-6-0-0 at home and 11-6-2-0 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 43-130 (33.1%). As for the penalty kill, the Cats ranks fourth in the WHL at 81.6%.
CALLED UP: On Friday, January 2nd, The Cougars have called up defenceman Cooper Bratton (09) from the Regina Pat Canadians of the Saskatchewan Under 18 league. Bratton, a signed prospect of the Cougars, was selected in the second round by the Cats in the 2024 WHL Prospect Draft. This season with the Pat Canadians, the Moosomin, SK product owns 25 points in 24 games and is also the team captain.
WELCOME BACK: The Cougars welcome back goaltender Josh Ravensbergen and 2026 draft eligible defenceman Carson Carels back to the lineup. The Cougar duo returns after earning a bronze medal at the 2026 World Junior Hockey Championship in St. Paul, MN.
ROSTER MOVES: 20-year-old forward Shaun Rios has cleared 20-year-old WHL waivers. Entering tonight, the Cougars have one open 20-year-old spot ahead of the WHL trade deadline on Thursday, January 8th.
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).
HOME SWEET HOME: Tonight's matchup against the Hitmen will mark the Cougars 18th home game of the season. The Cats own an impressive 12-5-0-0 record at CN Centre. Tonight marks the one and only time PG will host the Hitmen. The Cougars own a winning percentage of .706 at home which ranks first in the BC Division.
Western Hockey League Stories from January 6, 2026
- Broncos Set for Key Three-Game Week as 2026 Momentum Continues - Swift Current Broncos
- Canucks Alumni and Mascot Fin Will at SOFMC for Hockey Fest - Victoria Royals
- Rockets Host Tri-City Americans Wednesday - Kelowna Rockets
- Thunderbirds Acquire Combination of Players and Picks for Braeden Cootes - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Raiders Acquire Cootes in Blockbuster Trade with Thunderbirds - Prince Albert Raiders
- Broncos Sign Archer Cooke - Swift Current Broncos
- Pats Sign Mahlon Wiley to WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement - Regina Pats
- Game Preview: Cougars vs. Vees: 01/06/25 - Prince George Cougars
- Oil Kings Acquire Picks from Rockets for Alcos - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Chadi Signs with Rebels - Red Deer Rebels
- Papa Johns and the CHL Launch "Champions of Tomorrow" - WHL
- Giants Acquire L.A. Kings Pick, Defenceman Will Sharpe from Rockets - Vancouver Giants
- Rockets Acquire Overage Forward Ty Halaburda - Kelowna Rockets
- Oil Kings Acquire Sotheran from Winterhawks for Tsakumis, Picks - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Portland Winterhawks Acquire First and Fourth Round Picks Along with Defenseman Niko Tsakumis for Carter Sotheran - Portland Winterhawks
- Oil Kings Recall Hejda, Re-Assign Wouters - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Game Preview: Vees at Cougars - Penticton Vees
- Pats Captain McNutt Commits to Bentley University - Regina Pats
- 41 Past & Present CHL Players Capture Medals at 2026 World Juniors - WHL
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