Chiefs thump penalty-plagued Cougars

Some nights you just put up a stinker, and that was the case Friday for the Prince George Cougars as they fell 5-2 to the Spokane Chiefs.

The Chiefs got off to a lightning quick start to get the 6,011 fans at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena into the game early, scoring just 38 seconds into the game, striking again at the 1:32 mark. They added a powerplay marker 13:09 into the first as well.

It was a parade of white sweaters to the penalty box, as the Cougars found themselves shorthanded ten times throughout the game. Riley Heidt, Terik Parascak and Aleksey Chichkin were also handed ten-minute misconducts.

“Two quick ones, and you’re chasing the game from there, you’re down three after the first and you’re crawling and scratching in a game with a bunch of special teams in it, not a lot of flow or rhythm to it, early on had a few looks but couldn’t get them past their goalie and just chasing for most of the night,” said Cougars Assistant Coach Carter Rigby on the post-game show on 94.3 the Goat.

The Cougars showed some life in the second, when Josh Ravensbergen made a long pass to Riley Heidt, setting up a 3-on-0 which ended in a Terik Parascak goal.

Perry cashes in on the 3-on-0 to give us life!@Capitals | @CarlsJrCA https://t.co/WmjUVgIT79 pic.twitter.com/nCyurNkwg6

— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) January 18, 2025

After Shea Van Olm scored the Chiefs’ fourth goal on the night, Ravensbergen got the hook, with Cooper Michaluk coming in to face his former team.

In just 32 minutes of play, Josh Ravensbergen put up a stat line that most goalies would  see in a regular game, making 32 saves on 36 shots.

Michaluk had a lot less work, facing just eight shots and making seven saves.

“Josh is going to want a couple of those back, but he made big saves for us on the PK side of things, gave us a chance,” Rigby said.

“Coop coming in, I thought played really well, he gives up the shorthanded goal, which is tough on the breakaway, but other than that, I thought for the most part Coop did really well for us to come in off the bench cold like that and give us a chance.”

Koehn Ziemmer added a powerplay marker within the final two minutes.

Rigby said there is a sickness going through the team right now.

“I know as a coaching staff, we’re pretty sick and couldn’t imagine what the players are going through,” Rigby said.

“But at the end of the day, it’s an excuse, unfortunately, it’s real energy, and sickness is real, going through our group right now, but everybody’s got it, it’s this time of year, every team’s facing a few guys that are sick and injured, unfortunately we have a few more right now, but at the same time that’s where other guys got to step up.”

The box score is here.

With the loss, the Cougars (24-13-3-2) are now in second in the BC Division, two points behind the Victoria Royals. (24-12-3-4)

The loss also dropped the Cougars to fifth in the Western Conference.

The WHL standings are here.

The Cougars are back in action tonight, visiting the Western Conference leading Everett Silvertips.

The full Cougars schedule is here.