Preview: January 28th vs Prince Albert
PRINCE GEORGE BC – The Cougars return to familiar territory as they kick off their season longest five game home-stand, beginning tonight against the Prince Albert Raiders.
When: Saturday, January 29
Puck Drop: 6:00 PM
Listen: 94.3 The Goat
Watch: CHL Live
Cougars Record: 19-20-4-0 (42 Points, 2nd BC Division)
Cougars Last Game: A 4-3 overtime win over the Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday, January 21st
Raiders Record: 16-25-3-0 (14 Points, 6th East Division)
Raiders Last Game: A 3-1 win over the Saskatoon Blades on Saturday, January 21st
NEWS AND NOTES
Last Time Out: The Cougars capped off the Central Division Road trip with a 4-3 overtime victory against the Edmonton Oil Kings last Saturday night. Koehn Ziemmer had another big night, scoring two goals and one assist, and Chase Wheatcroft delivered the overtime winner. Ty Young earned his 12th win of the season, making 30 saves on 33 Edmonton shots.
‘Chase’ ing History: Cougars forward Chase Wheatcroft is one power-play goal away from setting the franchise’s single season power-play goal record. Wheatcroft tied Berkeley Buchko (2000-01) for the lead with 18 power-play goals in a single season. Wheatcroft has a chance to break the record at home vs Prince Albert tonight.
POW: Have a week, Koehn Ziemmer. The pride of Mayerthorpe, AB tallied two goals and one assist last Wednesday against the Calgary Hitmen, two goals last Friday against the Red Deer Rebels, and two goals and one assist on Saturday against the Edmonton Oil Kings to bring him up to 26 goals and 36 assists for 62 points in 43 games this season. With his two-goal performance last Wednesday, Ziemmer surpassed his previous career-high point total of 57 with this first full season with the Cougars last year. He needs four more goals to match his career best 30 tallies from the 2021-22 campaign.
On the Other Side: The Prince Albert Raiders enter tonight’s game against the Cougars winners in 5 of their last 10 games, with the most recent win coming on home ice over the Saskatoon Blades. Offensively, the Raiders are led by Sloan Stanick who owns 17 goals and 23 assists for 40 points in 43 games this season. Goaltender Tikhon Chaika has gotten the bulk of the starts for Prince Albert. Chaika sports an 11-17 record in 31 games this year, along with 3.27 goals against average and a .893 save percentage.
ADDITIONAL GAME INFORMATION
What Are We Wearing? The Cougars are slated to wear their speciality Indigenous Jerseys tonight. The jersey was designed by Cecilia John of Saik’uz First Nation. The jerseys are currently up for auction and will end on January 29th.
AFTER THE FINAL HORN
The Cougars are back at it next weekend, beginning on Friday, February 3rd when they host the Victoria Royals for a two-game weekend.
