WHL Prince George Cougars

Game Preview: Prince George Cougars vs. Spokane Chiefs: September 21

September 27, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


PRINCE GEORGE, BC - Tonight, at the CN Centre, the Prince George Cougars battle the Spokane Chiefs in the back half of the season-opening weekend. Tonight's contest features a mega 50/50 jackpot with a guaranteed amount of $65,000. 50/50 tickets must be purchased in-house only.

LAST NIGHT'S RECAP: The Prince George Cougars earned a point but dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Spokane Chiefs, Friday at the CN Centre. Matteo Danis, Jett Lajoie, and Ephram McNutt supplied the Prince George offence, while Josh Ravensbergen made 34 saves on 38 Spokane shots. The Cougars power-play went 1 for 2 while the Penalty Kill was a perfect 5 for 5.

HEAD-TO-HEAD PREVIEW: Tonight is the second of four meetings between the Prince George Cougars and the Spokane Chiefs. Tonight also represents the season-opening weekend for both clubs. The Cougars eliminated the Chiefs from the 2024 Playoffs, beating them four games to none.

THE NEXT WAVE: The Cougars signed their first, second, and third-round selections from the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft and all played in their first WHL pre-season this past month. Dade Wotherspoon (1st Round) and Cooper Bratton (2nd Round) were assigned home on September 8th to participate in the first fall camp with Team Saskatchewan U16. Ollie Reid (3rd Round) was assigned back to the Yale Academy where he is eligible to also participate in the WHL Cup for Team British Columbia.

READY. SET. VEGAS.: Forwards Terik Parascak, Ondrej Becher, and Hunter Laing were all selected at this summer's NHL Draft in Las Vegas, NV. The Washington Capitals drafted Parascak in the first round (#17 overall) and is the fifth Cougar ever to be selected in the opening round. The Lethbridge, AB native was named Co-Rookie of the Year during the Cougars' end-of-season awards, leading all Cougar rookies in scoring with 43 goals and 105 points in 68 games. He represented the Cougars at the 2024 CHL/NHL Top Prospects' game and was the first Cougar selected in Las Vegas. Ondrej Becher's name was called a few rounds later as the Detroit Red Wings selected him in the third round (60th overall) of the draft. The Czechian forward had a career season with the Cougars, compiling 95 points over a 58-game span. A few rounds later, Hunter Laing heard his name called by the Calgary Flames in the sixth round (170th overall). The 6'6 forward from Kelowna scored 11 times in the 23-24 season and was the final player from the Cougars to hear their name called at the NHL Draft.

LET'S GO CAMPING: Ten Cougars who are eligible to play in the WHL this season participated at NHL rookie camps this month - Riley Heidt (Minnesota), Koehn Ziemmer (Los Angeles), Terik Parascak (Washington), Ondrej Becher (Detroit), Borya Valis (Detroit), Bauer Dumanski (Detroit), Hunter Laing (Calgary), Carlin Dezainde (Boston), Viliam Kmec (Vegas), and Ty Young (Vancouver). Riley Heidt, Koehn Ziemmer, and Terik Parascak have each signed entry-level contracts with their NHL clubs.

Additionally, alumni Zac Funk (Washington), Hudson Thornton (Washington), Chase Pauls (New York Rangers) Chase Wheatcroft (Dallas), Jaxsen Wiebe (Anaheim), Tyler Brennan (New Jersey), and Ethan Samson (Philadelphia) all skated at NHL Camps.

O CANADA: Three Cougars earned the opportunity to represent the Maple Leaf at Hockey Canada Events this past summer. Riley Heidt and Josh Ravensbergen participated at the World Junior Summer Showcase while rookie defenceman Carson Carels was invited to the U17 High Performance Summer Showcase.

BC's FINEST: Riley Heidt, Zac Funk, Hudson Thornton, Terik Parascak, and Josh Ravensbergen were all recognized as BC Division All-Stars last season. Heidt, Funk, and Thornton received first-team recognition. Funk and Heidt led the Cougars in scoring (Funk 67-56-11 - Heidt 37-80-117), while Thornton had a big campaign on the Cougar blue line (18-56-74). Parascak and Ravensbergen were recognized as second-team all-stars. Parascak led all rookies last season with 45 goals in 68 games. For Ravensbergen, he led all WHL rookies in wins (26) and shutouts (6).

GET TO THE CHOPPER! Following a franchise record of 49-15-1-3, the Cougars were the recipients of multiple league awards and handed out their end-of-season awards. GM & Head Coach Mark Lamb was named the WHL's Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy Winner (Executive of the Year), and the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy winner (Coach of the Year). It's the first time a Cougars Coach and Executive has won this award in team history.

2024-2025 MONTHLY COMPARISONS

MONTH RECORD GF-GA PP PK SF-SA

September 0-0-1-0 3-4 1-2 5-5 30-38

October

November

December

January

February

March

2024-2025 10-GAME COMPARISONS

GAME RECORD GF-GA PP PK SF-SA

1-10 0-0-1-0 3-4 1-2 5-5 30-38

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-68

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

WHEN: Saturday, September 21, 2024

WHERE: CN Centre

TICKETS: HERE

LISTEN: 94.3 The Goat

WATCH: WHL Live

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from September 27, 2024


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