Series Preview: Winterhawks Ready to Take on Cougars

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WHL Portland Winterhawks

Series Preview: Winterhawks Ready to Take on Cougars

March 26, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Portland Winterhawks News Release


In a rematch of the 2024 Western Conference Championship, the No. 5 seed Portland Winterhawks are set to battle the No. 4 Prince George Cougars in the first round of the 2025 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien.

On May 6, 2024, Josh Davies was the hero for Portland, scoring 5:40 into the second overtime. The Winterhawks won the best-of-seven series 4-2 and went to the WHL Championship for the fifth time since President and General Manager Mike Johnston's arrival in the Rose City.

A year later, with a few holdovers from last year's championship team, the Winterhawks meet the Cougars for the third time in four years. The series will follow the same 2-3-2 format as last year. After the first two games at the CN Centre, the Winterhawks will host Games 3 and 4 on April 1 and 2. Then, if necessary, Game 5 will be at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. If Games 6 and 7 are needed, the series will shift back to Prince George.

The Winterhawks will host playoff watch parties for Games 1 and 2. On Friday join other fans at Cartside (1825 N Williams Avenue, Portland, OR 97227) and Grains of Wrath (230 NE 5th Avenue, Camas, WA 98607) on Saturday.

Also, The WHL Playoffs will be available on Victory+ without geo-restrictions, giving fans the opportunity to follow their favorite teams and players on the road to the championship. With Victory+ offering a free, ad-supported streaming service, this ensures that the game is accessible to everyone, no matter where they are or what devices they use, including Samsung and Vizio smart TVs, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, iOS, Android and web browser.

Learn more at victoryplus.com/download.

While Portland swept the four-game season series with Prince George, all four games were competitive. Three contests were decided by one goal, one in overtime, and one in a shootout (following a four-goal, third-period comeback by the Winterhawks).

Josh Zakreski led all skaters with five goals, three of which came in the most recent matchup, a 4-1 Winterhawks win on December 13, 2024. The Saskatchewan native had a career year in 2024-2025 with 39 goals. He joined fellow forwards Kyle Chyzowski (41) and Diego Buttazzoni (38) as members of the 30-plus goal-scorer club.

On the Cougars side, Koehn Ziemmer netted three goals in three games. He was sent back to Prince George by the Los Angeles Kings for his overage season. In addition to Ziemmer's team-high 37 goals in 2024-2025, three other Cougars reached the 30-goal mark - Borya Valis (34), trade deadline acquisition Ben Riche (33), and Minnesota Wild prospect Riley Heidt (31).

Both team captains were the top point producers. Heidt produced 1.5 points per game with 90 (31G, 59A) in 60 contests. Meanwhile, Kyle Chyzowski eclipsed the 100-point mark in 66 games. His 41 goals, 64 assists, and 105 points placed him fourth in WHL and ninth in CHL scoring.

On the blue line, Tyson Jugnauth was the highest-scoring defenseman in the WHL by 17 points. In 65 games with the Winterhawks, the Seattle Kraken fourth-round selection registered 13 goals, 76 assists (15 more than the next closest rear guard), and 89 points. The 20-year-old was one point shy of joining Luca Cagnoni as the only WHL defenseman to reach the 90-point mark since 1993-1994.

Viliam Kmec's 18 goals, 43 assists, and 61 points were the most for the Cougars and sixth in the WHL. The Vegas Golden Knights signed prospect joined Prince George after being selected in the second round of the 2021 CHL Import Draft.

Regarding getting production from rookies, 16-year-old Jordan Duguay played all 68 games for Portland and netted 11 goals, 21 helpers, and 32 points. Fellow 2008-born skater Carson Carels led the Cougars in rookie scoring with 35 points from the blue line.

Goaltending is always a key factor in the playoffs. In Game 6 last year, Jan Špunar and Josh Ravensbergen combined to deny 84-of-87 shots sent their direction.

Ondřej Štěbeták and Josh Ravensbergen each played three games during the season series, with Marek Schlenker and Cooper Michaluk being announced as the starting netminder once. Štěbeták earned three wins for the Winterhawks and Schlenker the other. For the Cougars, Michaluk was 0-1-0-0, and Ravensbergen 0-1-1-1 in his three appearances.

Behind the numbers

The intensity during five-on-five play ramps up during the playoffs, but the special-teams battle can swing the result in either direction. Both teams were tremendous on the penalty kill, allowing only one power-play goal. The Wintherakws went 1-for-19, while the Cougars were 1-for-16.

When leading after 40 minutes, the Cougars were a near-perfect 27-0-1-1. One of those blemishes came against Portland on October 9, 2024, when the Winterhawks overcame a four-goal deficit in the final 13:54. Diego Buttazzoni got the Winterhawks on the board with a power-play goal and then scored the only goal in the shootout to complete the comeback.

Portland held the lead after the first period 20 times during the regular season and emerged victorious on 18 occasions and 22-of-25 when entering the third period with an advantage.

The Cougars home record was second-best with 24-5-3-2, but the Winterhawks won 17 of their 36 games away from the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Both teams were excellent in one-goal games and found themselves on the proper side of the ledger. Head coach Mark Lamb had his group 15-4-4-2, while Kyle Gustafson's bunch was 13-6-3-1 when a single tally decided the game.

Regarding entering the playoffs on a heater, Buttazzoni holds the WHL's third-longest point streak with 11 straight games with a point. Dating back to February 23, he's netted ten goals and six assists. Zakreski (6G, 2A) and Jugnauth (1G, 7A) recorded points in Portland's last six games. For Prince George, Ziemmer has nine points (4G, 5A) in five straight.

Series schedule

All games will be streamed on Victory+ or you can listen to Nick Marek call the game on the Winterhawks Radio Network.

Game Visitor Home Day Date Time

1 Portland @ Prince George Friday March 28 7:00 p.m. PST

2 Portland @ Prince George Saturday March 29 6:00 p.m. PST

3 Prince George @ Portland Tuesday April 1 7:00 p.m. PST

4 Prince George @ Portland Wednesday April 2 7:00 p.m. PST

5* Prince George @ Portland Friday April 4 7:00 p.m. PST

6* Portland @ Prince George Sunday April 6 6:00 p.m. PST

7* Portland @ Prince George Monday April 7 7:00 p.m. PST

*- If necessary

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