For the first time since Zac Funk signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals, his Prince George Cougars team took on fellow Caps prospect Andrew Cristall and the rest of the Kelowna Rockets.
Both players, each ranked in the top five in the WHL in scoring, got on the scoresheet for their respective teams. With just a handful of games remaining on the league’s schedule this season, Funk has recorded 110 points (64g, 46a) in 63 games compared to Cristall’s 105 points (39g, 66a) in 58 games.
Funk was the first of the two wingers to leave his mark on the contest as Prince George jumped out to a 4-1 lead after two periods.
With the Cougars on a power play, Funk received a drop pass in the left faceoff circle and rifled home his 64th goal of the season to put Prince George up three tallies. The marker was Funk’s 30th while up a man this year and his 11th overall in his last six games.
Cristall wouldn’t let the Rockets go down without a fight though, sparking a four-goal Kelowna comeback with the primary assist on Max Graham’s goal to open the third period. The helper was his 66th of the season which leads all WHL wingers.
The most recent WHL Player of the Week wasn’t done there as he found the back of the net for his own goal less than five minutes later. With Kelowna pressuring deep in the Prince George zone, Gabriel Szturc fired a shot that clanged high off of goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen.
Cristall pounced on the rebound and chipped his 39th goal of the season over Ravensbergen’s pad. The Capitals’ second-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft is riding an eight-game point streak and has 19 points (8g, 11a) in those eight games.
The game-tying goal was followed shortly by Tij Iginla giving Kelowna a late lead that they could not hang on to as Prince George tied things up with less than three minutes remaining in regulation. Funk’s Cougars also ended up finding the overtime winner, sending Cristall’s Rockets to the locker room with just the loser’s point.
That point could be big though as Kelowna now sits two points ahead of the Victoria Royals for fifth in the Western Conference. Both Prince George and Kelowna have already clinched playoff spots. Prince George has also already clinched the BC Division title.
