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WHL Prince George Cougars

Giants to Host Cougars on TSN Friday

February 24, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


TSN's coverage of the Western Hockey League continues from the West Coast Friday as the Vancouver Giants (21-26-4-2) play host to the Prince George Cougars (26-23-4-0) on TSN 4 (7:30 p.m. PT, Langley Events Centre).

The Cougars occupy the second spot in the B.C. Division standings, with the Giants eight points back in third place ahead of tonight's meeting, the first in 2023 between the two sides.

Prince George has held the advantage in the season series against Vancouver thus far in 2022-23, winning four of the prior five matchups, most recently a 6-3 triumph at the Langley Events Centre in early December.

But the two sides share a commonality in that both teams possess top-tier NHL Draft prospects.

The Cougars boast a pair of forwards in Riley Heidt and Koehn Ziemmer who find themselves in the top 30 among North American Skaters in the most recent Draft rankings.

Heidt, from Saskatoon, Sask., and Ziemmer, from Mayerthorpe, Alta., sit 2-3 among Prince George scoring leaders, combining for an eye-popping 143 points to this point in the season, 19 of which have come in the five matchups against Vancouver.

Forward Chase Wheatcroft, an off-season acquisiton from Winnipeg, enters play Friday sitting fourth in League scoring with 75 points.

The Giants, meantime, have the highest-ranked North American skater in the contest in recent returnee Samuel Honzek. The Slovak sniper is ranked ninth in the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Term Rankings, and after returning to the lineup last weekend, scored twice in a 4-3 Giants overtime victory Monday against the Spokane Chiefs.

Alongside Honzek is Arizonan power forward Jaden Lipinski, who represented the Vancouver at the 2023 Kubota CHL / NHL Top Prospects Game last month. His 16 goals and 39 points this season both represent career bests.

The Cougars are one of the form sides in the Western Conference, holding a 7-3-0-0 record over their last ten games. Prince George completed a two-game sweep of the Portland Winterhawks Monday and Tuesday, with New Jersey Devils prospect Tyler Brennan surrendering only one goal against over his 125 minutes of work.

The Giants have three wins over their last five games thanks in part to the return of Honzek, and the steady play of new captain Ty Thorpe. The Brandonite leads Vancouver in scoring with 28 goals and 57 points, recently inheriting the captaincy after Ottawa Senators prospect Zack Ostapchuk was dealt to Winnipeg.

Watch Wednesday's game live on TSN 4 in Canada beginning at 7:30 p.m. PT.

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from February 24, 2023


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