BY COLE WALDIE
Prince George Cougars
PRINCE ALBERT, SK – The Prince George Cougars wrapped up their eastern division road swing with a 5-0 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday at the Art Hauser Centre.
Rookie goaltender Josh Ravensbergen earned a 38-save shutout in the win, and Koehn Ziemmer had a big night offensively, collecting three points.
The game’s opening goal came at 6:07, as Nicholas McLennan netted his first career WHL goal, giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead. Ephram McNutt provided the assist for McLennan’s milestone moment. The first period also saw the Cougars lose defenseman Keaton Dowhaniuk, who received a game misconduct penalty for a check to the head. Despite being outshot 16-15 in the first period, the Cougars maintained their 1-0 lead.
In the second period, the Cougars increased their lead with two quick goals. Zac Funk found the back of the net with his 15th goal of the season on the power-play, followed by Terik Parascak’s highlight-reel goal, his 18th of the season, at 6:48. Josh Ravensbergen’s outstanding goaltending kept the Cougars ahead, despite being outshot 11-5 by Prince Albert in the second.
In the third period, the Raiders created several scoring opportunities, but Josh Ravensbergen continued to shine, making crucial saves to preserve the three-goal lead. At 15:18, Koehn Ziemmer received a pass from Riley Heidt at the right circle and beat Chase Coward to extend the lead to 4-0. Just over two minutes later, Ziemmer showcased his skills by maneuvering around a pair of Raiders and providing a cross-ice pass to Oren Shtrom, who scored his fourth goal of the season, making it 5-0 at 17:32.
Prince George finishes their five game road trip with a 3-2 record and remain atop of the WHL with the win tonight against the Prince Albert Raiders.