By Nick Dube

strong start

Cougars off to a phenomenal start

Oct 8, 2025 | 4:50 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Prince George Cougars head into Wednesday night’s matchup with the Kelowna Rockets as the sole undefeated team in the B.C division.

The Cats are a perfect 4-0 following sweeps of the Winterhawks and Chiefs as the team has been firing on all cylinders despite some of the more notable names on the roster away at pro camps. Head Coach Mark Lamb praised the team for stepping up in all aspects of the game and attributed the hot start to the squad doing all the little things it takes to win. With the return of key pieces to the roster Lamb expects it to take time for everything to come together.

“We’re four games in and we’re happy with how we played. We’re really happy with the competition and the teams that we’ve played but we have to see what we’re like with every everybody back in our lineup. Even though even though you have your NHL guys gone they do to come back and they got to find the chemistry within the team. We’re happy where we’re at but it’s only four games.” said Lamb.

With multiple players away at pro camps to begin the season the opportunity was there for other to step up. Third year forward Jett Lajoie took advantage of top line minutes with 7 points in four games flanking Lee Shurgot and Kooper Gizowski. Lajoie attributes the teams start to hard work and feels the new additions will only lead to better results.

On Demand

February 24, 2026: CKPG News on Demand

8h ago

Puerto Vallarta

Family of Prince George radio host impacted by Puerto Vallarta violence

11h ago

Ukraine refugees

Ukrainian refugees remain after four years

11h ago

“We put the work in during the summer and kind of just grinded through. We had some guys missing but it doesn’t define our team and we just kept working and now we have them back so it makes our team even more unreal. I mean having those guys back is obviously huge and we just have to get some chemistry going. I believe we just have to keep working hard.” said Lajoie.

Heading into the first showdown with Kelowna who have already secured a Memorial Cup spot as hosts, could serve as a benchmark for the rest of the season. The Rockets have a competitive roster this season with possibly more reinforcements on the way as they aim to win the Memorial Cup on home ice in May. Coach Lamb says these division battles are key to developing early season chemistry.

“It’s very important because it’s a division game. It’s a team in our division that has a lot of different players already, and we expect them to have a few more different players as the season goes on. The players that they’ve added are real good players. They have some balance and they’re looking for their chemistry so they really don’t know what they have yet. But they have Iginla back and they have Wetsch the captain in there. Kelowna has got some really good players coming in here.” said Lamb.

Following Wednesday night’s game, the Cougars welcome the Tri City Americans to town this Thanksgiving long weekend.