Was that yet another record-breaking night for the Prince George Cougars?
10-4!
Their 10-4 hammering of the Victoria Royals was the 46th win of the season for the Cougars and it eclipsed the team record of 45 set by the 2016-17 edition, much to the disappointment of partisan patrons in the crowd of 4,247 who gathered to watch Saturday at Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena in Victoria.
Prince George (46-15-1-3) remained first in the Western Conference, one point up on the Portland Winterhawks (46-15-2-1), who won 5-3 Saturday in Wenatchee.
It was also a night to remember for Cougars winger Zac Funk, who picked up his 113th point to break Quinn Hancock’s single-season Cougar record for points in a season. Funk, a 20-year-old from Coldstream, finished off a breakaway pass from Viliam Kmec with a backhand deke on goalie Jayden Kraus to make it a 4-1 game just 54 seconds into the second period.
Funk also picked up two assists in the third period for a three-point night to keep pace with Moose Jaw Warrior Jagger Firkus atop the WHL scoring race, each with 116.
Funk’s 65th goal (also a Cougar record) triggered a three-goal outburst from the Cats to start the second period.
Not to be outdone, Cougar forward Ondrej Becher had a five-point night with four goals and one assist. The Czechian import accounted for all the scoring in the third period with three unanswered goals and now has 28 goals and 89 points.
Rookie Terik Parascak put his stamp on the game in the first period with his 40th and 41st goals, which left him one point shy of 100, good for ninth in the points race. His second of the game came while shorthanded, an unassisted effort near the end of the first period.
Borya Valis (with another shorthanded goal), Carlin Dezainde and Aidan Foster also got into the scoring act for the visitors.
The Cougars also established a team record for goals scored in one season and now have 296. The old mark of 290 was set last season.
Tyson Laventure, Dawson Pasternak, Matthew Keller and Escalus Burlock were the Royals’ shooters who beat goalie Ty Young, who made 16 saves in the game. The Cougars peppered Kraus with 40 shots.
The Cougars have three games left in the season, including a Sunday matinee (4 p.m., 94.3 FM, The Goat) in Langley against the Vancouver Giants. Portland had four games left.
