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By CKPG Today

WHL

Cougar players pick up WHL Player of the Month honours for September/October

Nov 1, 2023 | 10:57 AM

Calgary, Alta. – The Western Hockey League announced today Prince George Cougars forward Zac Funk has been named WHL Player of the Month for September / October 2023.

Funk, 20, recorded 30 points (14G-16A) in 14 games to start the season atop the WHL scoring charts heading into November. Funk’s 14 goals rank third in the WHL, while his 16 assists are good enough for to leave him tied for fourth in the League.

The product of Coldstream, B.C., started the campaign with a bang, named Tempo WHL Player of the Week on September 25 after posting seven points (3G-4A) in two games on opening weekend of the 2023-24 WHL Regular Season.

Funk, a 6-foot, 210-pound right winger, put five points on the scoresheet on three occasions through September and October. In addition to a five-point effort (3G-2A) Friday, September 22 in a 9-0 win versus Tri-City, Funk notched five points (2G-3A) Friday, October 6 in a 6-4 home victory over Wenatchee. His third five-point performance came Saturday, October 21 as he secured a hat trick along with two assists in a 7-1 triumph on home ice over the Kamloops Blazers.

In total, Funk has recorded eight multipoint performances through 14 games this season.

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From Wednesday, October 4 through Saturday, October 21, Funk enjoyed a point-scoring streak of six games, in which he tallied 17 points (9G-8A).

Funk also leads the WHL in power-play goals with nine.

The 2023-24 season represents Funk’s first full season with the Cougars after he was acquired by Prince George at the 2023 WHL Trade Deadline. In 45 career WHL Regular Season games with the Cougars, he has collected 56 points (27G-29A) and plus-26 rating. During the 2023 WHL Playoffs, he chipped in with eight points (5G-3A) in 10 games.

Funk was originally selected by the Calgary Hitmen in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2018 WHL Draft.

In 174 career WHL Regular Season games, Funk has tallied 134 points (66G-68A).

Heading into November, the Prince George Cougars are first in the WHL with a record of 10-4-0-0. Thanks, in part, to Funk’s contributions, the Cougars are the highest-scoring team in the WHL with 74 goals-for in 14 games (5.29 goals per game).

The Cougars power play also ranks first in the WHL, having converted on 36.1 per cent of its opportunities.

And the good news doesn’t stop with Zac Funk, as forward Terik Parascak was named Rookie of the Month.

Parascak, 17, recorded 29 points (17G-12A) in 14 games to start the season and sits second in WHL scoring behind his teammate Zac Funk, who was named WHL Player of the Month today. Parascak’s 17 goals rank first among all WHL skaters.

The product of Lethbridge, Alta., has been the most unstoppable rookie to start the 2023-24 WHL campaign, named WHL Rookie of the Week on three separate occasions.

Parascak, a 5-foot-11, 179-pound right winger, started the season by securing 12 points (8G-4A) in four consecutive games from Friday, September 22 through Saturday, September 30, including a season-high six-point (4G-2A) outburst Friday, September 29 in an 11-2 win at Victoria.

Through 14 games, Parascak has notched eight multipoint games. Aside from six points on September 29, he has posted three points on five separate occasions, including in three of his previous four games.