We interrupt our scheduled programming to take you on a trip down memory lane.
With their backs up against the wall, the Prince George Cougars needed to re-create some magic to keep their season alive.
Clutch two-goal performances from Matteo Danis and Koehn Ziemmer paced the Cougars to an emphatic 7-2 victory over the Portland Winterhawks in front of 5,025 fans at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Friday.
Portland leads the best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final 3-2 with Game Six set for Sunday at 6pm from CN Centre.
Why does this look familiar you ask?
Flashback to the 2024 Western Conference Final, the Cougars also found themselves down in the same 3-1 hole only to blow out the Winterhawks 6-1 in Game 5 to force a similar scenario.
For the first time in this series, PG drew first blood as captain Riley Heidt, who returned after serving a one-game suspension, blew a shot by Winterhawks goaltender Ondrej Stebetak for 1-0 lead, 9:01 into the first period.
Welcome back Riley Heidt!!!@mnwild | @CarlsJrCA https://t.co/DvszlSgjlj pic.twitter.com/iUeMub5zBr
— x – Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 5, 2025
The play was aided by a Portland turnover inside the defensive zone, which the Minnesota Wild prospect made no mistake on.
Roughly six minutes later, Danis followed suit with his first of two, wiring a wrist shot past the head of Stebetak.
Jett Lajoie created the 2-on-2 rush in transition, before his drop back pass found the tape of his 19-year-old line mate from Calgary.
Matteo Danis has his team-leading fourth goal of the series!@CarlsJrCA https://t.co/hKfTN1fEZq pic.twitter.com/TpPR1yXlt4
— x – Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 5, 2025
Ryder Thomspon put Portland on the board 1:05 later as his point shot got past a screened Josh Ravensbergen for a 2-1 PG edge after 20 minutes.
Period two was much tighter, with the lone goal coming off the stick of Ziemmer.
With both teams playing 4-on-4, rookie defenceman Carson Carels led a rush up the ice where he stopped behind the Winterhawks net and made a precision pass to the 20-year-old who made no mistake.
Koehn Ziemmer extends the lead late in the second!@LAKings | @CarlsJrCA https://t.co/FX7Zb2I4mr pic.twitter.com/2lr36V0LJe
— x – Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 5, 2025
PG opened the floodgates in the third scoring four times on 13 shots.
The offensive domination began right off the opening faceoff as Danis collected his second of the game and team-leading fifth of the post-season cashing in on a rebound following a rush by Aiden Foster, crashing the Winterhawks crease.
Terik Parascak and Borya Valis each notched their third of the playoffs 40 seconds apart while Ziemmer rounded out the lucky seven with 2:18 remaining.
TERIK PARASCAK DOES IT HIMSELF!!@Capitals | @CarlsJrCA https://t.co/CMZu5lz2QH pic.twitter.com/TEsfmBDOVa
— x – Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 5, 2025
Alex Weiermaier scored his fifth of the playoffs for Portland on the power-play to make the box score look a little more respectable.
Portland outshot the Cougars 40-39. The Winterhawks went 1-for-3 on the man advantage while PG didn’t score during its lone opportunity in the third period.
Bauer Dumanski returned to the lineup after sitting out Game Four due to injury.
After a horrendous start to the series, Ravensbergen is rounding back into form for the Cougars at the right time.
Following a career-high 51 save performance in Wednesday’s 5-4 double-overtime loss, the 18-year-old from North Vancouver was sharp again turning aside 38 of 40 Winterhawks shots.
Stebetak on the other hand, allowed seven goals for the second time. He made 32 saves in defeat for Portland.
In both Cougars wins this series they have scored seven goals.
Four third period goals, Ziemmer puts us up by 5!@LAKings @CarlsJrCA https://t.co/KTEnnQIQuE pic.twitter.com/Sh0jFXWWU6
— x – Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 5, 2025
When compared to last year’s Western Conference Final, both series have pretty much mirrored each other – the only difference being the roster turnover on both sides.
Here is a full breakdown from last year to this year:
2024 Western Conference Final
Game One – Prince George 5 Portland 0
Game Two – Portland 5 Prince George 3
Game Three – Portland 4 Prince George 1
Game Four – Portland 5 Prince George 2
Game Five – Prince George 6 Portland 1
Game Six – Portland 2 Prince George 1 (2OT)
2025 Western Quarterfinal Series
Game One – Prince George 7 Portland 6 (OT)
Game Two – Portland 5 Prince George 2
Game Three – Portland 6 Prince George 3
Game Four – Portland 5 Prince George 4 (2OT)
Game Five – Prince George 7 Portland 2
Game Six (Sunday) – ?
Other than a slight variation in the box scores, the turnaround between Games Five and Six is vastly different, which could work in the Cougars’ favour.
After PG won Game 5 of the 2024 Western Conference Final, both teams had a rare three-day break.
This time around, there is only one day off in between with both teams making the 14-hour bus ride back up to PG.
With three straight playoff exits at the hands of the Winterhawks over the last eight years, Cougar fans are craving a change in fortune when the puck drops on Sunday.
If the desired result comes to fruition, Game Seven would be played Monday night at 7pm from CN Centre.
DRAG THEM BACK TO THE NORTH#ForTheNorth . #PGWhiteOut . #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/oneCMhKLhx
— x – Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 5, 2025
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