Series Preview: (6) Spokane Chiefs vs (3) Prince George Cougars
WHL Prince George Cougars

Series Preview: (6) Spokane Chiefs vs (3) Prince George Cougars

Published on March 25, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


Start your engines!

For the second time in three seasons, the Prince George Cougars and Spokane Chiefs are set to battle in Round One of the 2026 WHL Playoffs.

Just a handful of players remain from those teams, but they all come in with much to prove and high expectations on their shoulders.

The Spokane Chiefs look to mount another deep run after battling all the way to the 2025 WHL Championship Series, while the Prince George Cougars look to convert years of regular-season success to playoff glory.

Prince George is coming off a third straight season with 30 or more wins with a deep roster that features six players with 20 or more goals, including Washington Capitals first-rounder Terik Parascak, top 2026 NHL Draft defensive prospect Carson Carels, and waiver pickup Kooper Gizowski.

The Cougars have iced some of the WHL's best special teams, with Gizowski sitting second in the league in powerplay goals (17) and Carels ranking third in powerplay assists (27).

In net, 2025 San Jose Sharks first-round pick Joshua Ravensbergen is on a career tear and now leads the WHL in active wins (91) while helping the Cats tie as the third-stingiest club.

Spokane has revamped and found its groove in the second half of the year to slide into the postseason.

Captain and Toronto Maple Leafs pick Nathan Mayes and St. Louis pick Will McIsaac will anchor the Chiefs' blueline and try to shutdown Prince George's wily forwards.

General Manager Matt Bardsley made waves on the trade front by bringing in veteran Logan Wormald in December, but the biggest move came in sending Mathis Preston to Vancouver in exchange for another draft-eligible forward in Tyus Sparks and defenceman Marek Howell.

Sparks has been just shy of a point per game with his new club, netting 12 goals (including two game-winners) and 16 assists for 28 points in 29 contests.

Sophomore Carter Esler has also been a bright spot in his first turn as a starter, most notably logging a WHL-best five shutouts.

Prince George swept the season series with four wins, but two of those victories came way back in the opening weekend of the season.

Game 1 is set for Friday, March 7, in the Northern Capital.

Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. PT at the CN Centre before the series shifts south of the border for Game 3 on March 30 at Numerica Veterans Arena.

STAT PACK

(6) Spokane Chiefs (3) Prince George Cougars

Record 31-24-7-6 44-22-2-0

Leading Scorers Tyus Sparks (28G-37A, 65 pts)

Logan Wormald (22G-42A, 64 pts)

Chase Harrington (28G-29A, 57 pts) Terik Parascak (33G-46A, 79 pts)

Brock Souch (28G-45A, 73 pts)

Carson Carels (20G-53A, 73 pts)

Leading Goaltender Carter Esler (24-18-1-0, 2.80 GAA, .903 save percentage, five shutouts) Joshua Ravensbergen (32-13-0-0, 2.51 GAA, .919 save percentage, four shutouts)

Powerplay 16.7% (23rd) 31.6% (3rd)

Penalty Kill 79.3% (8th) 81.6% (3rd)

2025 WHL Playoffs Lost Final (Medicine Hat) Lost First Round (Portland)

Last WHL Championship 2008 1981*

*- Victoria Cougars

2025-26 Regular Season Series: Prince George leads 4-0-0-0

October 3, 2025- Prince George 2, Spokane 1

October 4, 2025- Prince George 4, Spokane 3

March 6, 2026- Spokane 1, Prince George 5

March 7, 2026- Spokane 3, Prince George 4

GAME BREAKERS

Spokane: Talk about getting hot at the right time. From January 1 on, Draft-eligible Chase Harrington led all Chiefs skaters with 15 goals in his last 26 games. He also tops his team in powerplay goals (10) and penalty minutes as he embraces a power forward role. The Prince George, B.C. product is ranked 32nd among all North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting in the agency's midterm rankings and has competed at the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge and the 2026 WHL Prospects game. Harrington, 18, has two assists in four games against the Cats in the regular season, but looks to make a splash in his hometown with the slate wiped clean for playoffs.

Prince George: NHL scouts (and fans) will be watching defenceman Carson Carels' every move. The 17-year-old from Cypress River, Man., is the highest-ranked current WHLer heading into the 2026 NHL Draft at third among North Americans, and has been getting it done at both ends of the ice for Prince George. Carels had a career-best 73-point season (20G-53A), though he prides himself most on his defensive ability and his team-best +23 rating. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound rearguard was the second-youngest player for Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship and returned to WHL action on a new level. From the start of the calendar year, Carels picked up 12 goals and 32 assists for 44 points in 30 games. He also owns four points (1G-3A) in four outings against Spokane.

GOALTENDING

Spokane: Carter Esler has rallied hard in his first year as a bona fide starter. The 17-year-old iced his first 20-plus win season while posting a league-leading five shutouts- including a 36-save effort against the regular season champion Everett Silvertips. He was named WHL Goaltender of the Month for February after a tremendous 8-1-0-0 run to get the Chiefs back in the thick of the playoff race. Esler backed up Dawson Cowan in Spokane's run to the 2025 WHL Championship, but made one start against Victoria in Round Two and had a single-period relief appearance in the Championship Series. He was 0-3-0-0 against Prince George this season with a 3.71 GAA and an .867 save percentage.

Prince George: Playoffs mean unfinished business for Joshua Ravensbergen. The Cougars fan-favourite backstopped the team to double overtime in Game 6 of the 2024 WHL Western Conference Championship, where they fell in a heartbreaker to Portland, before bowing out in six against the Hawks in Round One last spring. In his third WHL campaign, the 19-year-old is playing his best hockey yet. Ravensbergen leads all goaltenders in wins (32) and save percentage (.919), while ranking fourth in GAA (2.51) and tying for second in shutouts (4). The 6-foot-5, 195-pound puck-stopper was named WHL Goaltender of the Month for November and cracked Canada's roster for the 2026 World Juniors, along with Carels. Ravensbergen has posted a sparkling 4-0-0-0 record against the Chiefs in 2025-26 with a 2.00 GAA and .928 save percentage and was named first star in two of the matchups.

X FACTOR

Spokane: As one of the returning players from last year's voyage to the Championship, Owen Martin has upped his game for the find-a-way Chiefs. His 26 goals are a new personal best, and he tops his team with six game-winning goals while sitting second in the WHL in faceoff wins (799, 55.6%). The Winnipeg Jets prospect was named Tempo WHL Player of the Week in late February and is one of eight current Chiefs players to have found the back of the net against the Cougars.

Prince George: General Manager and Head Coach Mark Lamb made another clutch offseason pickup by claiming overager Kooper Gizowski off of waivers from Lethbridge. The result? A career-best 32 goals (including nine game-winners and a hat trick), 40 assists and 72 points in 67 games. The Edmonton joined rare territory by surpassing 300 career games played and has valuable postseason experience, having made it as far as the 2025 Eastern Conference Championship with the Hurricanes. Gizowski has four points (3G-2A) in four tilts against the Chiefs and found the scoresheet in three different games.

2026 WHL PLAYOFFS SERIES SCHEDULE

Game Visitor Home Day Date Time

1 Spokane @ Prince George Friday March 27 7 p.m. PT

2 Spokane @ Prince George Saturday March 28 6 p.m. PT

3 Prince George @ Spokane Monday March 30 7 p.m. PT

4 Prince George @ Spokane Wednesday April 1 7 p.m. PT

5* Prince George @ Spokane Thursday April 2 6:05 p.m. PT

6* Spokane @ Prince George Sunday April 5 6 p.m. PT

7* Spokane @ Prince George Monday April 6 7 p.m. PT

* = if necessary

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from March 25, 2026


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