It may not have been their best game of the season but Friday was a night of accomplishment for the Prince George Cougars.
They got a win, they moved up in the standings and it was confirmed they will have home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs starting on Friday, March 28th.
The Cougars all-time leading goal scorer, Koehn Ziemmer, and the team’s all-time leading point producer, Riley Heidt, led the 4-2 come from behind victory over the Wenatchee Wild.
It improved the Cougars home record to a staggering 22-4-3-2.
The game summary and highlights are here.
– 22-4-3-2 at the CN Centre
– Mark Lamb owns 400 victories in the WHL
– Home Ice for Round One = CLINCHEDCats are hot!
Recap and reaction from GM & HC Mark Lamb!https://t.co/ZV5aMeAbin pic.twitter.com/pIINr4Spmw
— x – Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) March 15, 2025
Prince George erased a 2-1 deficit by scoring three unanswered goals in the third period to the delight of 4,592 fans at CN Centre.
Ziemmer tied the game at 2 at 6:31, Heidt notched the winner, on a power play at 14:37, and Ziemmer ended the drama by putting the puck into an empty net for his team high 35th goal of the season at 18:45.
Matteo Danis gave P.G. a 1-0 lead just 40 seconds into the game but Wenatchee settled down after that and had a decisive territorial advantage in the second.
Evan Friesen scored both goals for the Wild, at 18:21 of the first on the power play and his team high 30th of the season at 10:36 of the second.
Both goalies were sharp; Brendan Gee blocked 27 of 30 shots in the Wenatchee net while Josh Ravensbergen blocked 25 of 27 for Prince George.
The 18-year-old Ravensbergen has 33 wins on the season, tied with Dawson Cowan of Spokane for the league lead.
The (39-20-4-2) Cougars, who have won eight of their last nine, moved two points ahead of the (36-17-3-7) Victoria Royals in the race for first place in the B.C. Division.
The Royals lost on home ice 3-1 to the Vancouver Giants Friday as Cameron Schmidt, who is from Prince George, scored his 37th and 38th goals for the Giants.
Final Scores wrapped up with a pretty red bow as a nice gift for you all (Don’t ask why, we just felt like it)#WHLScores pic.twitter.com/5VmpxBVaXh
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) March 15, 2025
Prince George has three home games left while Victoria has five road games remaining.
The Cougars host the (23-34-7-1) Wild again tonight (Saturday 6:00) before closing at home against Victoria on March 21st and 22nd.
Wenatchee is three points behind the (26-32-4-1) Seattle Thunderbirds for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference and the Thunderbirds (with five to play) have two games in hand.
The Cougars will be either the 2nd seed or the 4th seed for the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
They will face either Portland, Vancouver or Tri-City in round one.
The WHL Conference standings are here.
The forecast is calling for a WHITEOUT!
Tickets for games 1 and 2 of the 2025 playoffs go on sale on WEDNESDAY at 2:00pm!
Get ready, Prince George 😼 pic.twitter.com/k2Q8SuAq7I
— x – Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) March 15, 2025
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
