Cougars kill their prey by biting the head and neck to crush the skull and neck bones or by biting the throat to snap the windpipe.
In the case of the Prince George Cougars, you could argue they did both to the Kelowna Rockets as they chewed up and spat out their BC Division rivals by an 8-1 margin Wednesday night at CN Centre.
The Cats were the masters of their natural habitat dominating Kelowna from start to finish aside from an early goal by Rockets forward Logan Peskett.
From there, it was feeding time for PG who chased down its prey wearing red with the obscure Ogopogo logo in the front.
Red-hot rookie Terik Parascak began a streak of eight unanswered goals, capitalizing on a three-way scoring play to even the score at 1-1.
Terik Parascak with his TENTH goal of the season!
The 17-year-old rookie now leads the entire WHL in goals (10) and points (14)!@PGCougars pic.twitter.com/NfeLRqROqe
— The WHL (@TheWHL) October 5, 2023
It all started with a Hudson Thornton point shot that was re-directed by overage forward Zac Funk, right to the blade of the 17-year-old who had a yawning cage to shoot at.
Like a mountain lion protecting its natural habitat, the Cougars came out hungry in the second, creating wave after wave of offensive flair.
At 1:29 of the second period, Parascak’s hot stick rewarded him again as he blasted home an Ondrej Becher feed putting the hosts in the driver’s seat.
“My linemates have helped out so much, it’s helped me play my game and I am glad to be helping out the team.”
“We are all bought in right now and it’s showing for all of us. The points are coming for all numbers but more importantly it is putting wins on the board.”
Terik Parascak of the @PGCougars explains what is going right after beating @Kelowna_Rockets 8-1 on Wednesday #cityofpg #PrinceGeorge #northernbc #sports pic.twitter.com/gb6Lf64ntB
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) October 5, 2023
Similar to a deer in the headlights, the Rockets caved into the pressure of their opponent – this time, a turnover at centre ice by import blueliner Marek Rocak led to a 2-on-1 rush by Oren Shtrom who found Hunter Laing for his second of the season.
PG continued to go for the jugular by schooling the Rockets while shorthanded.
A strong effort by Carlin Dezainde created another odd-man rush for the Cats locating Shtrom who ripped a slapper past Rockets netminder Jake Pilon extending the advantage to 4-1.
Shtrom who was acquired in the summer from the Everett Silvertips for disgruntled forward Caden Brown says he is fitting in quite nicely in his new surroundings.
“Yeah it’s been great. Everything from the coaches and teammates have made the acclimation really easy on me and it’s really nice to come here. Obviously, we have a really good team so it’s an exciting time to be here.”
The Gilbert, Arizona native has four points in his first six games with the Cats.
.@PGCougars forward Oren Shtrom chats with @mypgnow after 8-1 victory over @Kelowna_Rockets #cityofpg #PrinceGeorge #northernbc #sports pic.twitter.com/Tlu3OVR1Y4
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) October 5, 2023
Seven minutes later, a jailbreak 2-on-oh that began at the Cougars blueline allowed Parascak and Becher to turn on the jets and toy with Pilon as the import power-forward from Czechia finished off another pretty sequence.
🎥HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT🎥
Two-on-OHHH SNAP!@PGCougars | #WHLHoN pic.twitter.com/RyQHwJ7Z2m
— The WHL (@TheWHL) October 5, 2023
With that being said, the power-play would not be outdone. This was set up by a roughing call on Rockets defenceman Jackson DeSouza, who ambushed rookie forward Nicholas McLennan behind the net.
All five players on the top unit for PG created a masterful display of zone time, which was finished off by Funk putting away a feed from Riley Heidt.
Viliam Kmec and Dezainde added a pair of late markers, adding more salt to the Rockets’ wounds.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Western Conference-leading Cougars blasted the Rockets into orbit, outshooting them 47-11.
It was a light night for Vancouver Canucks signed goalie prospect Ty Young who made 10 saves in the win.
Pilon, on the other hand, took the loss for Kelowna making 39 stops on 47 shots.
PG went 3-for-5 on the power play while scoring twice shorthanded.
The Cougars have six shorthanded goals in as many games this season.
Don’t let his 6’6″ frame fool you…
Hunter Laing can sling it!@PGCougars pic.twitter.com/lDNoteGiCY
— The WHL (@TheWHL) October 5, 2023
How hot are the Cougars right now? Seven out of the WHL’s top 12 scorers are from PG including the top three. (Parascak, Becher and Funk).
The remaining four are Heidt, Thornton, Dezainde and Viliam Kmec.
PG has lit the lamp 40 times in its first six games – an average of 6.66 per contest.
The Cougars (5-1-0-0) continue a four-game homestand Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (6 p.m.) against the Wenatchee Wild (1-3-1-0).
Speaking of the Wild, head coach Kevin Constantine was slapped with at least a two-year suspension following derogatory comments that were made of a discriminatory nature during the opening weekend.
Should Constantine wish to return to coaching in the WHL, he will be required to formally apply for reinstatement to the league Commissioner. He will not be eligible to apply for reinstatement until July 2025 at the earliest.
Constantine was suspended on September 24th after the WHL’s independent reporting channel received a complaint regarding his conduct and the independent Player Advisory Council began its investigation.