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WHL Prince George Cougars

Preview: Cougars Conclude 2023 in Kamloops to Take on Blazers

December 30, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


Tonight, in Kamloops, the Prince George Cougars visit the Kamloops Blazers to begin a five-game road-swing at 6:00 pm.

The Prince George Cougars improved to 10-0-0-0 when coming off a loss, defeating the Calgary Hitmen 3-2. Ty Young delivered a 35 save performance and was named the game's first star. Hudson Thornton netted the game winning goal in the final 100 seconds of the game to help secure the victory.

PG GOAL SCORERS: Dowhaniuk. Funk, Thornton

GOALIE: Young (35/37, .945)

PP: 1/3

PK: 1/2

2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Oct. 21/2023 - at Prince George (7-1 PG)

Dec. 30/2023 - at Kamloops

Feb. 4/2024 - at Prince George

Feb. 16/2024 - at Prince George

Feb. 17/2024 - at Kamloops

Feb. 23/2024 - at Kamloops

Mar. 22/2024 - at Kamloops

Mar. 23/2023 - at Prince George

2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Oct. 22/2022 - at Kamloops (4-3 PG/OT)

Nov. 26/2022 - at Prince George (4-1 KAM)

Dec. 16/2022 - at Prince George (6-5 KAM/OT)

Dec. 17/2022 - at Prince George (4-3 KAM/OT)

Dec. 30/2022 - at Kamloops (4-2 KAM)

Dec. 31/2022 - at Prince George (10-6 PG)

Feb. 11/2023 - at Kamloops (5-4 KAM)

Mar. 24/2023 - at Kamloops (7-2 PG)

Mar. 25/2023 - at Prince George (3-2 PG/SO)

2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS

Goals (37): Zac Funk

Assists (47): Riley Heidt

Points (65): Riley Heidt

PIMS (70): Aiden Foster

Plus/Minus (+29): Terik Parascak

2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON GOALTENDING LEADERS

Wins (13): Ty Young

Save % (.928): Joshua Ravensbergen

Goals Against Average (2.07) - Joshua Ravensbergen

Shutouts (6): Joshua Ravensbergen

COUGARS CAREER MILESTONES WITHIN REACH:

Hudson Thornton - 47 career goals (3 away from 50)

Zac Funk - 195 career games played (5 away from 200)

Zac Funk - 89 career goals (1 away from 90, 11 away from 100)

Keaton Dowhaniuk - 194 career games played (6 away from 200)

Chase Pauls - 191 career games played (9 away from 200)

Terik Parasack - 26 career goals (4 away from 30)

Riley Heidt - 66 career goals (4 away from 70)

WHO'S HOT

Zac Funk has points 13 of last 15 games (21-8-28)

Riley Heidt has ten points in his last four games - (3-7-10)

Terik Parascak has points in 7 of 8 games (4-9-13)

Ondrej Becher has points in 3 of his last 4 games (3-4-7)

Joshua Ravensbegren has 12 wins in 19 WHL appearances (12-3)

TONIGHTS STORYLINES & STATS

35 DOWN: The Cougars enter tonight with a 25-10-0-0 record (50 points) on the season through 35 games which leads the BC Division and the Western Conference. The Cats are 13-6-0-0 at home and 12-4-0-0 on the road so far this season.

WELCOME ABOARD, CHASE PAULS: The Cougars acquired veteran blue-liner Chase Pauls from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on December 27th in exchange for a third-round selection in the 2024 WHL Prospect's Draft. Hailing from Osler, SK, the right-handed blue-liner who stands at 6'5" has had a robust WHL career, suiting up in 190 games and accumulating 55 points (18-37-55) over four seasons."Pauls is a big veteran defensive defenceman that will fit in our group very well," commented GM & Head Coach Mark Lamb. "He is a top penalty killer, defends hard, and makes a good first pass." Pauls recorded an assist in his Cougars debut on Thursday night against the Calgary Hitmen

AGAINST THE BC DIVISION: The Cougars enter tonight's contest against the Hitmen with a 10-3-0-0 record against the BC division and are 17-7 against the Western Conference.

ALL ABORD THE HEIDT TRAIN: Cougars forward Riley Heidt has dazzled for his team in 2023-2024. Heidt was the first CHL skater this season to reach 60 points and enters tonight with nine points in his last three games.

THE BERGER: Cougars' rookie goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen has been incredible this season. The North Vancouver, BC product enters tonight with a 10-3-0-0 record on the season with a 2.06 goals against average and a .927 save percentage with a league-leading six shutouts. Ravensbergen has tied a WHL record for most shutouts by a rookie goalie. The North Vancouver, BC product also tied alumnus Scott Bowles for the teams' single-season shutout record.

FEEL THE FUNK: Cougar forward and 20-year-old Zac Funk has had a memorable final junior hockey season thus far. The product of Coldstream, BC was the first WHL skater this season to reach the 30-goal mark. On top of that, Funk has netted five hat-tricks which leads the Western Hockey League. Entering tonight's game against Edmonton, Funk owns 37 goals and is first in league scoring.

PROSPECT PERRY: Cougar rookie sensation Terik Parascak has been invited to the CHL/NHL Kubota Top Prospects Game in Moncton, NB. The Lethbridge, AB native has surprised many in 2023-2024. Parascak currently owns 52 points entering tonight's game (26-26-52). Parascak was named the WHL's Rookie of the Month for September/October. Parascak, 17, recorded 29 points (17G-12A) in 14 games to start the season and sits second in WHL scoring behind his teammate Zac Funk, who was named WHL Player of the Month for September/October.

O CANADA: Cougars Associate Coach Jim Playfair has been named an Assistant Coach for Team Canada at the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland. This marks the first time Playfair has gotten the opportunity to rep the maple leaf behind the bench. The head coach for the tournament is former NHL Head Coach Bruce Boudreau. Canada is currently 2-1 at the Spengler Cup and are headed to the semi-final

AT THE WORLD JUNIORS Both of Prince George's European players are in Sweden at the World Junior Hockey Championship. Viliam Kmec is with Team Slovakia for the third consecutive season. Ondrej Becher is with Team Czechia for the first time at the World Junior. Slovakia is leading the group thus far with a 3-0 record, while the Czech's are 1-0-1.

CAPTAIN STANDS ALONE: On December 16th, captain Hudson Thornton became the Cougars franchise leader for points (158) among defenceman, surpassing alumnus Dan Hamhuis. The Winnipeg, MB native broke the record with a wrist shot inside the blue line to help his team to a convincing 9-2 win over Vancouver.

WHAT'S AHEAD: Following tonight's game, the Cats will start the new year in Wenatchee with a date against the Wild on January 3rd.

CHL TOP TEN: Sitting in first place in the WHL, the Cougars (24-9-0-0) jump back up to No. 2 in this week's CHL Top-10 Rankings. Through 33 games, Prince George owns a +63 goal differential, which is tied with Baie-Comeau for the best mark in the CHL. The Cougars are also averaging 4.61 goals per game this season, which ranks third in the CHL behind only the No.4-ranked Kitchener Rangers (4.85) and the Portland Winterhawks (4.71). This past week, following a 5-2 loss to Everett, Prince George was dominant in victories against Wenatchee (6-3) and Vancouver (9-2). Minnesota Wild prospect Riley Heidt was excellent in those two games against the Wild and the Giants, collecting two goals and six assists. Heidt leads the CHL with 63 points alongside his teammate Zac Funk, who also had a solid week. Funk registered four goals and nine points in the Cougars' three games, which included recording his fifth hat-trick of the season against the Wild.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

WHEN: Saturday, December 30 at 6:00pm PDT

WHERE: Sandman Centre - Kamloops, BC

WATCH: WHL Live

LISTEN: 94.3 The Goat

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from December 30, 2023


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