Prince George Cougars

Prince George Cougars
City Prince George, British Columbia
League Western Hockey League
Conference Western
Division B.C.
Founded 1971
Home arena CN Centre
Colours Red, copper and black
              
General manager Todd Harkins
Head coach Richard Matvichuk[1]
Website www.pgcougars.com
Franchise history
1971–1994 Victoria Cougars
1994–present Prince George Cougars

The Prince George Cougars are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team currently members of the B.C. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team is based in Prince George, British Columbia, and plays its home games at the CN Centre, formally known as the Prince George Multiplex. The Cougars were founded in 1971 as the Victoria Cougars, but later moved to Prince George in 1994. On March 19, 2014, after months of rumours, a team of local investors led by Greg Pocock, along with NHLers Dan Hamhuis and Eric Brewer, agreed in principle to purchase the Prince George Cougars. The deal was approved by the WHL Board of Governors on April 30 the same year. [2]

History

1994–1996 Logo.

The Prince George Cougars played the 1994–95 season at the Prince George Coliseum, along the Tier II Prince George Spruce Kings, until the construction of the team's own arena was complete. The Cougars' logo for their first season in Prince George closely resembled that of the Victoria Cougars'. For the 1995–96 season, the Cougars moved into their new home, the Prince George Multiplex, since renamed the CN Centre. A new logo was also unveiled the same season.

The Cougars' most successful playoff run came during the 2006–07 season. Prince George achieved their first sweep of the Kamloops Blazers in a best-of-seven-game series, proceeded to defeat the top-ranked Everett Silvertips in six games and reached the Western Conference finals for the third time, which they ultimately they lost in five games to the eventual 2007 Memorial Cup champions, the Vancouver Giants.

The Cougars are the only team in WHL history to draft two brothers in the first round of the WHL Bantam Draft. Jesse Forsberg, a defenceman, was drafted 11th overall by the Cougars in 2008, and his younger brother Alex, a centre, was taken first overall in 2010.

1996–2008 Logo.
Logo used from 2008–2015

2014 sale

After months of rumours, it was announced on March 19 that a team of local investors led by Greg Pocock, along with current NHLers and former Cougars Dan Hamhuis and Eric Brewer, had agreed in principle to purchase the Prince George Cougars. The price of the sale was undisclosed, and the official confirmation of the sale occurred on April 30 after approval from the WHL Board of Governors. Cougars Owner Rick Brodsky and Vice President Brandi Brodsky declined to comment at the time of the sale.[3]

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs
1994–95 72 14 55 3 - 229 392 31 7th West Out of playoffs
1995–96 72 17 53 2 - 219 340 36 7th West Out of playoffs
1996–97 72 28 39 5 - 238 287 61 6th West Lost West Division final
1997–98 72 43 24 5 - 311 236 91 3rd West Lost West Division semi-final
1998–99 72 34 32 6 - 255 264 74 4th West Lost West Division quarter-final
1999–2000 72 43 20 4 5 279 228 95 2nd West Lost West Division final
2000–01 72 31 33 4 4 242 266 70 5th West Lost West Division quarter-final
2001–02 72 34 27 9 2 244 215 79 3rd B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2002–03 72 26 41 3 2 257 317 57 5th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2003–04 72 30 34 7 1 214 236 68 5th B.C. Out of playoffs
2004–05 72 26 41 3 2 158 223 57 5th B.C. Out of playoffs
Season GP W L OTL SOL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs
2005–06 72 35 31 2 4 195 195 76 4th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2006–07 72 33 31 3 5 221 217 74 3rd B.C. Lost Western Conference final
2007–08 72 20 48 1 3 172 304 44 5th B.C. Out of playoffs
2008–09 72 25 44 0 3 188 298 53 4th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2009–10 72 12 56 1 3 172 327 28 5th B.C. Out of playoffs
2010–11 72 33 35 2 2 258 265 70 4th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2011–12 72 24 46 0 2 166 357 50 5th B.C. Out of playoffs
2012–13 72 21 43 2 6 177 273 50 4th B.C. Out of playoffs
2013–14 72 27 35 3 5 238 305 62 4th B.C. Out of playoffs
2014–15 72 31 36 2 3 222 295 67 3rd B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2015–16 72 36 31 3 2 240 225 77 4th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final

Team records

Team records for a single season
StatisticTotalSeason
Most points951999–2000
Fewest points282009–10
Most wins431997–98; 1999–2000
Fewest wins122009–10
Most goals for3111997–98
Fewest goals for1582004–05
Fewest goals against1952005–06
Most goals against3921994–95
Individual player records for a single season
StatisticPlayerTotalSeason
Most goalsQuinn Hancock541997–98
Most assistsJansen Harkins592014-15
Most pointsQuinn Hancock1121997–98
Most points, rookieBrogan O'Brien562015-16
Most points, defencemanChristian Chartier682000–01
Most penalty minutesClayton Catellier2871994–95
Most games played (Goalie)Scott Myers661998–99
Best GAA (goalie)Scott Bowles2.402005–06
Most shutouts (goalie)Scott Bowles62005–06
Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played

NHL alumni

The following alumni of the Prince George Cougars have played in the National Hockey League.

Dustin Byfuglien became the first ex-Cougar to win the Stanley Cup as a member of the 2010 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. He was followed the subsequent season by Zdeno Chara, captain of the Boston Bruins, who won the Stanley Cup in 2011.

Uniforms and logos

Third jersey Logo.

The Cougars colours are red, white and black. Home jerseys have a white upper portion, with a burgundy lower portion, separated by a diagonal black stripe. Away jerseys have a black upper portion, with a burgundy lower portion, separated by a diagonal white stripe. Prince George's third jersey features a redesigned logo (inset), on a burgundy jersey, with black, grey and white trim on the lower portion. On August 20, 2008, the Cougars unveiled a new logo, resembling closer to the third logo than the second, and was designed by Mike Doran of Splash Media.

See also

  1. ↑ "Mavericks Coach Matvichuk Moving On". OurSports Central. 2 June 2016.
  2. ↑ "Cougars Sale Approved By WHL Governors". CKPG NEWS.
  3. ↑ "Cougars, Investors Reach Deal In Principle For Sale Of Team". CKPG NEWS.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/17/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.