Editor’s Note:–
It is time for a break. After 1000 columns that started on a Friday in May, 1995 on the old Opinion 250 website and has continued each Friday since, I have decided to take a hiatus. I am not retiring and I am not suggesting this will be my last column but after 19 years it is time for a pause. This decision is not health related, it is just even with things you enjoy there comes time to get away. I am not sure when the next Hart Attack will be, but until then I want to thank you for spending a small portion of your valuable time reading this column.
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The 11th annual Prince George Cougars Alumni Charity Golf Tournament runs this weekend (July 5th-6th).
I have been asked to briefly speak at the banquet tonight (Friday) with the theme being to reflect on the team being in PG for 30 years.
The tournament, started by the late Gary Samis, raises a significant amount of funds for the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation.
While there is a wide range of positive topics to reflect on in this team’s history, I thought I would give my rankings to the top five P.G. Cougars teams that we have seen since first taking to the ice in 1994-95.
From the 1994-95 season until 2017-18, the team played 72 games. Since then it has been 68, except for the two seasons altered by COVID-19.
The Cougars team standings since moving from Victoria to Prince George can be found here.
This top-5 list below includes the only four P.G. Cougars teams that won two rounds of the playoffs to reach the Western Final.
Many may want to rank it higher because it had the second most points in team history with 96 and the second best record at 45-21-3-3. This team also produced the first banner at CN Centre for finishing first in the B.C. Division. However, the playoff disappointment can not be ignored. The Cougars made three significant trades to have a long run but they ended up losing to 7th ranked Portland in six games in the first round of the 2017 playoffs.
BC’S BEST!
The Cougars earned a single point at home Saturday to clinch their first ever BC Division title!!
MORE: https://t.co/DA2LCELfzG pic.twitter.com/PQCvMGS8A9
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) March 19, 2017
This team only finished 7th out of 10 in the Western Conference with a 33-31-3-5 record but they gave their fans a treat with a great playoff. They swept Kamloops in the first round even though the Blazers were 12 points higher in the standings. The Cougars went on to beat U.S. Division champion Everett in six games; this after dropping the first two. This was arguably the second biggest upset in team history as P.G. finished 37 points behind the Silvertips. The Cougars ran out of gas in the third round of the 2007 playoffs losing to Vancouver 4-1 in a year the Giants went on to capture the Memorial Cup.
𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 28, 2007 📽️
Devin Setoguchi scores the OT winner to lift the Cougars to a 4 game sweep over Kamloops.
We are just 5 sleeps away from Retro Night, Mega 50/50, and Fan Appreciation Night at the CN Centre!
🎟️ https://t.co/lsyWBtiONi#ForTheNorth • #WHL pic.twitter.com/Y7SGkOSwae
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) March 20, 2023
There is case this team should be ranked higher. The Cougars ended up 5th out of 18th overall and second in the seven team West Division with a record of 43-20-4-5 and only five points behind Spokane. They whipped Kelowna 4-1 in the first round, beat Seattle 3-0 in the second round and lost to Spokane 4-1 in the Western Final of the 2000 playoffs.
#TBT Scott Myers backstopping the Cougars to the Conference Finals in 1999-2000. pic.twitter.com/SJ2mkQOnWb
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) April 16, 2015
Based on a regular season record of 28-39-5, one may wonder how this could be the second best team in Prince George Cougars history. The answer is a spectacular playoff run in front of Multiplex (now called CN Centre) standing room only crowds that sold out in minutes, not hours. The Cougars roster included Zdeno Chara, Eric Brewer, Joel Kwiatkowski, Blair Betts, Ronald Petrovicky and goalie Chris Mason, who all went on to lengthy NHL careers. In the biggest first round upset in team history, they shocked Portland, winning 4-2. The Winterhawks that season were heavily favoured after winning the West Division with the most points in the league (97), a whopping 36 more than a P.G. team that only finished 6th in the 7-team West Division. The Cougars roll continued with a 3-game to none sweep of Spokane in the second round. They lost the Western Final 4-2 to the Don Nachbaur coached Seattle Thunderbirds. Seattle was coming off a unique second round bye in the 1997 playoffs.
Over the years, the CHL Import Draft has welcomed a talented list of European players into the WHL community.
In 1996, it was Slovakia’s Zdeno Chara who was selected by the @PGCougars! pic.twitter.com/mGGG9Y0knU
— The WHL (@TheWHL) July 2, 2024
Where does one begin with all the accolades for this team? They were not only first in the B.C. Division but the entire 11-team Western Conference with a regular season record of 49-15-1-3 for 102 points, the most in team history. They had a goal differential of a whopping plus 119 (316 GF and 187 GA). New team individual records were set by Zack Funk for goals with 67, points with 123, and power play goals with 31; Riley Heidt in assists with 80, Captain Hudson Thornton in points by a defenseman with 74 (tie), assists by a defenseman with 56 (tie), and Josh Ravensbergen in most shutouts with 6 (tie). This team had three NHL drafted players at the start of the season (Heidt, Koehn Ziemmer and goalie Ty Young) and three more players that were selected last week in the 2024 Draft (first rounder Terek Parascek plus Ondrej Becher and Hunter Laing). It is almost a certainty that Ravensbergen will be selected in his 2025 draft year. In the 2024 playoffs, they whipped Spokane 4-0, dumped Kelowna 4-1 and lost to Portland 4-2 in the Western Final. The 6th game against the Winterhawks, a 2-1 loss in double overtime, was an incredible heart-pounding thriller before 6,016 fans, the fifth straight unofficial playoff sellout at CN Centre. Mark Lamb became the first member of the Prince George Cougars to be named WHL Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year.
Time to go camping! ⛺️
TEN players from our 2023-24 roster are at NHL Development Camps this week!
Good luck, guys!https://t.co/VOSuyV5DRM#ForTheNorth • #WHL pic.twitter.com/PmzYSmGbF0
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) July 2, 2024
Now let the debate begin about the order of the top five but I do not believe there is any argument that the 23-24 team is the best Prince George Cougars team of all-time.
A year from now, perhaps the 24-25 Cougars might top the list.
They have an impressive returning roster to give it a shot.
FROM THE QUOTE RACK:
NY Mets reliever Edwin Diaz, who enters games to the song “Narco,” was recently ejected from a game for having an excessive amount of sticky substance on his hands. Perhaps his new entry tune should be “Busted.”
*Contributor Marc Ragovin of New York
A group of engineers in Norway have built a bicycle that measures 180 feet 11 inches long. Some people will do anything to try and win the Tour de France.
*Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
ESPN headline “”LeBron James staying with Lakers.” Okay, wouldn’t it have been a headline only if he hadn’t? Sorry Bronny, you’re on your own.
*Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
Five main reasons Brits gave for attending the World Hen Racing Championships:
5. Competitors show pluck;
4. To egg on their favourite;
3. Excitement at its beak;
2. We’re off to see the gizzards;
1. It’s poultry in motion.
Hartley Miller is the news and sports director/supervisor plus morning news anchor for 94.3 the GOAT and Country 97fm. He has completed his 11th year as the radio colour commentator on the Prince George Cougars home games. Hartley has been on the airwaves in PG since 1979 and is the author of You Don’t Say (sports quotes).
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
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