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WHL Prince George Cougars

Valis Makes Cougars Debut; Cougars Begin 2024 against Wenatchee

January 3, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


Tonight, in Wenatchee, the Prince George Cougars kick off 2024 with a clash against the Wenatchee Wild at 6:00 at the Town Toyota Centre.

The Prince George Cougars completed the calendar year of 2023 with a 4-1 victory over the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday night at the Sandman centre in Kamloops. Ty Young, once again, shined in the Cougar crease making 33 saves and was named the games first star. Riley Heidt propelled the Cougar offence with two goals and an assist.

PG GOAL SCORERS: Dezainde, Lajoie, Heidt, Heidt

GOALIE: Young (33/34, .970)

PP: 1/3

PK: 2/2

COUGARS LAST FIVE RESULTS, Record: 4-1-0-0

DATE RESULT GWG PG GOALIE OPP. GOALIE

December 15, 2023 PG [6] at WEN [3] Laing Young Palmer

December 16, 2023 PG [9] at VAN [2] Buczkowski Ravensbergen Hutchison

December 27, 2023 PG [4] vs EDM [6] Hodnett Ravensbergen/Young Hay

December 28, 2023 PG [3] vs CGY [2] Thornton Young Buenaventura

December 30, 2023 PG [4] at KAM [1] Lajoie Young Sanche

2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Oct. 6/2023 - at Prince George (6-4 PG)

Oct.7 /2023 - at Prince George (6-3 WEN)

Dec. 15/2023 - at Wenatchee (6-3 PG)

Jan. 3/2024 - at Wenatchee

Jan. 28/2024 - at Wenatchee

2022-2023 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Oct. 22/2022 - at Prince George (4-1 WEN/WPG)

2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON STATS LEADERS

Goals (37): Zac Funk

Assists (48): Riley Heidt

Points (68): Riley Heidt

PIMS (74): Aiden Foster

Plus/Minus (+31): Terik Parascak

2023-2024 REGULAR SEASON GOALTENDING LEADERS

Wins (14): 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 - 197 career games played (3 away from 200)

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

Keaton Dowhaniuk - 196 career games played (4 away from 200)

Chase Pauls - 193 career games played (7 away from 200)

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

Borya Valis - 147 career games played (3 away from 150)

Ondrej Becher - 93 games played (7 away from 100)

WHO'S HOT

Zac Funk has points in 5 of his last 6 games (5-6-11)

Riley Heidt has points in 5 consecutive games (5-8-13)

Terik Parascak has points in 8 of 9 games (4-10-14)

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)

Ty Young has wins in 3 consecutive starts

TONIGHTS STORYLINES & STATS

36 DOWN: The Cougars enter tonight with a 26-10-0-0 record (52 points) on the season through 36 games which leads the BC Division and the Western Conference. The Cats are 13-6-0-0 at home and 13-4-0-0 on the road so far this season.

THE NEWEST COUGAR: The Cougars acquired 19-year-old forward Borya Valis from the Regina Pats on Sunday, December 31st. Valis, 19, Valis, a 19-year-old native of Denver, CO, has showcased his offensive prowess with an impressive 33 points in 35 games this season (13-20-33) while playing for Regina in the 2023-2024 season. Standing at 6'2 ‚¬Â³ and possessing a right-handed shot, Valis brings valuable experience, having played in 147 WHL games and amassing a total of 106 points (44-62-106). "Valis is an offensive player that has a nose for the net," commented GM and Head Coach Mark Lamb. "His experience and size are also something we were looking for, especially with the injury to Ziemmer." In exchange for Valis, the Regina Pats receive defenseman Tyson Buczkowski, a 17-year-old who has contributed to the Cougars with nine points (2-7-9) in 36 games this season. Originally selected in the first round by the Cougars in 2021, the 5'11" blue-liner played in 49 games over the last two seasons, posting 13 points (3-10-13), a +6 plus/minus rating, and 32 penalty minutes.

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.

CHL TOP TEN: Although they fell in their first game back from the holiday break, the Cougars (26-10-0-0) bounced back by winning a pair of contests to maintain their place in these rankings at No.2 by defeating Calgary (3-2) and Kamloops (4-1). Prince George has now won seven of their last 10 and they have scored four goals or more in four of their last five contests. The Cougars continued to be led by Minnesota Wild prospect Riley Heidt and 20-year-old Zac Funk, who continue to be difference makers for this squad. Heidt extended his point streak to five games (5G-8A over that stretch) and Funk tallied his 37th goal of the season. Funk continues to lead the CHL with 37 goals, while Heidt ranks first in the CHL with 68 points (20G-48A), just three ahead of Funk who has 65 points (37G-28A). This week, the Cougars will travel to the U.S. Pacific Northwest for a tough four-game road trip highlighted by games against Wenatchee, Seattle, No.10-ranked Portland and Everett.

AGAINST THE US DIVISION: The Cougars enter tonight's contest against the Wild with a 7-4-0-0 record against the US division and are 18-7 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 points in five consecutive 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.

ZAC ATTACK: 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 Wenatchee, Funk owns 37 goals and is first in league scoring.

TOP PROSPECTS GAME: 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 54 points entering tonight's game (26-28-54). 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 returned from Davos, SUI with Team Canada at the Spengler Cup. Playfair and Team Canada finished 2-2 at the highly coveted tournament in Switzerland.

WORLD JUNIORS Both of Prince George's European players are in Sweden at the World Junior Hockey Championship.. Ondrej Becher is with Team Czechia for the first time at the World Junior. Slovakia lost in overtime in the quarter-final to Team Finalnd, while Becher is moving on after a thrilling win over Team Canada and will take on Sweden in the semi-final.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

WHEN: Wednesday, January 3 at 6:00pm PDT

WHERE: Town Toyota Center - Wenatchee, WA

WATCH: WHL Live

LISTEN: 94.3 The Goat

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2024


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