Prince George Cougars
The Prince George Cougars are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. The team is based in Prince George, British Columbia, and plays its home games at the CN Centre (formally Prince George Multiplex). The Cougars were founded in 1971 as the Victoria Cougars, but later moved to Prince George in 1994.
History
The Prince George Cougars played the 1994–95 WHL season at the Prince George Coliseum along the Tier II Prince George Spruce Kings, until the construction of their 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 WHL 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 WHL 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 conference finals for the third time where they lost in five games to the eventual Memorial Cup Champion Vancouver Giants. The Cougars are the only team in Western Hockey League history to draft 2 brothers in the first round of the Western Hockey League Bantam Draft. Jesse Forsberg, a defenceman, was drafted 11th overall by the Cougars in 2008, and his younger brother Alex, a centerman, was taken first overall in 2010.
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 |
Team records
| Team records for a single season |
| Statistic |
Total |
Season |
| Most points |
95 |
1999–2000 |
| Fewest points |
28 |
2009–10 |
| Most wins |
43 |
1997–98; 1999–2000 |
| Fewest wins |
12 |
2009–10 |
| Most goals for |
311 |
1997–98 |
| Least goals for |
158 |
2004–05 |
| Least goals against |
195 |
2005–06 |
| Most goals against |
392 |
1994–95 |
| Individual player records for a single season |
| Statistic |
Player |
Total |
Season |
| Most goals |
Quinn Hancock |
54 |
1997–98 |
| Most assists |
Quinn Hancock |
58 |
1997–98 |
| Most points |
Quinn Hancock |
112 |
1997–98 |
| Most points, rookie |
Jozef Mrena |
41 |
1998–99 |
| Most points, defenceman |
Christian Chartier |
68 |
2000–01 |
| Most penalty minutes |
Clayton Catellier |
287 |
1994–95 |
| Most games played (Goalie) |
Scott Myers |
66 |
1998–99 |
| Best GAA (goalie) |
Scott Bowles |
2.40 |
2005–06 |
| Most shutouts (goalie) |
Scott Bowles |
6 |
2005–06 |
| Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played |
NHL alumni
Twenty three 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 while he was a member of the 2009-2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. He was followed by Zdeno Chara, captain of the Boston Bruins, who won the Stanley Cup in the 2010-2011 post season.
Uniforms and logos
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. It was closer to the third logo than the second. It was designed by Mike Doran of Splash Media.
See also
External links
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Prince George Cougars
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| The Franchise |
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| Arenas |
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| Conference Championships |
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| Division Championships |
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| President's Cup |
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