BY COLE WALDIE
Prince George Cougars
KAMLOOPS, BC – It was the perfect way to kick off the month of November for the Prince George Cougars. Koehn Ziemmer’s second career hat trick helped the Cats to a 6-3 victory over the Kamloops Blazers on Friday at the Sandman Centre. Not only did Ziemmer collect a hat trick, but he also now has 100 career goals in the Western Hockey League. Terik Parascak, Kayden Lemire, and Borya Valis also found the back of the net in the win. In goal, Josh Ravensbergen earned his ninth win of the season, making 27 saves on 30 Blazer shots.
GOALS
1st PERIOD:
1-0 Cougars at 4:33 – Koehn Ziemmer (8) assisted by Terik Parascak and Evan Groening // The Cougars jumped out to an early lead after a pretty pass from Terik Parascak, who sent Koehn Ziemmer on a breakaway. The LA Kings prospect made no mistake, going to the backhand and putting the puck past Dylan Ernst to make it 1-0 for the Cougars.
2-0 Cougars at 16:18 – Koehn Ziemmer (9) assisted by Jett Lajoie and Evan Groening // The Cats extended their lead as Jett Lajoie made an amazing pass from the goal line, past a pair of Blazers, and spotted Ziemmer in the slot for his second of the night and his 100th career WHL goal.
3-0 Cougars at 17:54 – Kayden Lemire (2) assisted by Viliam Kmec and Evan Groening // The Cats continued to supply offense and made the score 3-0. Viliam Kmec showed tremendous patience carrying the puck from the blue line to the goal line, then found Kayden Lemire in the slot. Lemire put the puck through the legs of Dylan Ernst to make it 3-0 Cougars.
2nd PERIOD:
4-0 Cougars at 11:50 – Terik Parascak (9) assisted by Riley Heidt and Viliam Kmec // The Blazers turned the puck over in their own zone, and the Cougars made them pay. Kmec stole a Blazer pass at the right point, and the play developed into a tic-tac-toe setup, where Terik Parascak fired home a one-timer from Riley Heidt to make it 4-0.
4-1 Cougars at 13:04 – Emmitt Finnie (8) assisted by Nathan Behm and Kalan Anderlini // The Blazers finally solved Josh Ravensbergen as Detroit Red Wings prospect Emmitt Finnie centered a puck from the left circle, and the puck slid underneath Ravensbergen into the net to get Kamloops on the board.
3rd PERIOD:
4-2 Cougars at 5:27 – Tommy Lafreniere (8) (PP) assisted by Emmitt Finnie and Harrison Brunicke // On a Blazer power play, Emmitt Finnie spotted Tommy Lafreniere in the slot, and the Blazer forward redirected the puck through Ravensbergen’s five-hole to cut the Cougars’ lead in half.
4-3 Cougars at 14:02 – Oren Shtrom (4) assisted by Kai Matthew and Andrew Thomson // The Blazers continued to press and cut the lead to one. As a Blazer power play expired, the puck was tight in front of Josh Ravensbergen, and former Cougar Oren Shtrom was able to slide home a rebound in the blue paint to make it 4-3.
5-3 Cougars at 16:17 – Koehn Ziemmer (10) (PP) assisted by Borya Valis and Terik Parascak // The Cougars were awarded a late power play and made it count. Koehn Ziemmer received a Borya Valis pass in the slot and scored his second career hat trick, giving the Cats a two-goal lead.
6-3 Cougars at 18:53 – Borya Valis (EN) // Borya Valis put the icing on the cake as he had the puck just shy of the attacking blue line and rifled it into the empty net to help PG earn a 6-3 win.