Yet another player has walked away from the Prince George Cougars.

Daulton Siwak, a 19-year-old forward who is fifth in team scoring, informed Cougars general manager Dallas Thompson on Sunday night he was leaving.

"He told us that he was going to go home and ponder his life and think about what he wants to do," Thompson said Tuesday afternoon.

Siwak, a right-winger from Olds, Alta., has nine goals and 17 points in 38 games this Western Hockey League season. He played in weekend home games against the Kelowna Rockets and went pointless in 4-2 and 8-4 losses.

Siwak is in his second season with the Cougars. In 66 outings, he has 19 goals and 32 points.

Siwak follows in the footsteps of forward Alex Forsberg, who didn't return to the team after the Christmas break. Forsberg, who turned 18 on Jan. 4, is at home in Waldheim, Sask., awaiting a trade.

The WHL trade deadline is Thursday at 2 p.m.

Thompson said there have been "no serious offers" for Forsberg, selected first overall by the Cougars in the 2010 bantam draft.

"That's going to be a situation here too," Thompson said.

This season, Forsberg sits third on the team scoring list, with nine goals and 19 points in 31 games.

In Tuesday night's 6-4 road loss to the Portland Winterhawks, the Cougars were down to just 10 forwards.

n The Everett Silvertips, one spot ahead of the ninth-place Cougars in the Western Conference, fired head coach Mark Ferner and assistant coach Chris Hartsburg on Tuesday. Garry Davidson, the club's general manager, will take over behind the bench on an interim basis.

Assistant coach Mitch Love, who hails from Quesnel, was spared the axe.

The Silvertips own a 16-24-0-2 record and hold down the last playoff spot in the conference.