Ever since the Lethbridge Hurricanes picked Miguel Marques 10th overall in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, the Prince George minor hockey product has been thinking about coming home to play against the Prince George Cougars.
The 17-year-old right winger will get that chance Friday (7 p.m.), when the Hurricanes finish off their five-game BC Division tour against the Cougars at CN Centre.
“Playing in front of my family and friends is going to be super exciting,” said Marques. “This game has been circled on my calendar for quite sometime now and It's going to be a pretty special night for me and my family."
The Hurricanes are winners of five of their last six. They started their trip Friday in Victoria with an 8-3 win over the Royals. Marques had a second-star night with a goal and three assists. The ‘Canes also beat Vancouver 4-3 in overtime, lost 4-1 in Kelowna and are coming off a 7-3 win Wednesday in Kamloops.
Marques has surpassed his 20-point total in 59 games as a WHL rookie last year.
“Individually I feel that I'm playing really good and doing what I can to help the team win,” Marques said. “Having a full season underneath me has been huge for my confidence. Last year was an eye opener for me and coming into this year I knew what to expect and what I needed to do to have a good start and keep that up throughout the year."
The Cougars are coming off a pair of wins on the road last weekend and have won seven of their last 10. Rookie goalie Josh Ravensbergen blanked Vancouver 5-0 for his fourth shutout on nine games Friday and on Saturday in Kelowna the Cougars scored three third-period goals for a 5-4 comeback win over the Rockets.
