BY COLE WALDIE
Prince George Cougars
The Prince George Cougars extended their winning streak to three games with an electrifying 4-3 victory over the Kelowna Rockets on Friday night at the CN Centre.
2025 NHL Draft prospect Josh Ravensbergen stood tall in net for the Cougars, stopping 31 of 34 shots to help secure the win. The Cats saw goals from four different players, including a memorable first WHL goal from rookie Carson Carels.
GOALS
1st PERIOD:
1-0 Cougars at 2:13 – Viliam Kmec (4), assisted by Matteo Danis: The Cats wasted no time getting on the board. Matteo Danis set up Viliam Kmec, who rifled a shot from the right circle past Jari Kykkanen to open the scoring.
2-0 Cougars at 5:46 – *Carson Carels (1), assisted by Terik Parascak and Borya Valis*: The rookie blue-liner Carson Carels doubled the lead with a powerful shot from the left circle, finding the net for his first WHL goal.
2-1 Rockets at 13:40 – Kanjyu Gojsic (2): Kelowna’s Kanjyu Gojsic responded by cutting the lead in half, snapping a shot from the left circle that sailed over Ravensbergen’s shoulder.
3-1 Cougars at 19:52 (PP) – Lee Shurgot (3), assisted by Viliam Kmec: Late in the first, the Cougars regained their two-goal cushion on the power play. Kmec maneuvered into the offensive zone and set up Lee Shurgot in front, who buried it for his third of the season.
2nd PERIOD:
3-2 Rockets at 6:20 – Caden Price (5), assisted by Andrew Cristall: After Ravensbergen stopped Andrew Cristall’s initial breakaway attempt, Cristall collected his own rebound and found Caden Price in tight, who capitalized to make it a one-goal game.
4-2 Cougars at 8:28 (PP) – Koehn Ziemmer (18), assisted by Terik Parascak and Lee Shurgot: The Cougars responded just minutes later on the power play. Terik Parascak delivered a cross-ice feed to Koehn Ziemmer, the reigning WHL Player of the Week, who scored his 18th goal of the season.
3rd Period
4-3 Rockets at 17:42 – *Jakub Stancl (7), assisted by Caden Price*: In a late push, the Rockets pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. Caden Price set up Blues prospect Jakub Stancl, who scored on a one-timer to make it 4-3.