The Prince George Cougars won’t be wasting any time renewing their junior hockey rivalry with the Portland Winterhawks.
They’ll open the new Western Hockey League season with back-to-back games against the Winterhawks, Sept. 19-20 at CN Centre.
The Winterhawks ended the Cougars’ season April 7 in Prince George in Game 7 of their opening-round series — the third time in the past four years Portland has defeated the Cats in a playoff series.
The 2025-26 season will be the 32nd for Prince George since the Cougars moved north from Victoria.
The league announced the home-opening schedule for all 23 teams Wednesday morning and the defending-champion Medicine Hat Tigers will host the Regina Pats in their first game, Saturday, Sept. 20.
After winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup the Tigers advanced to the Memorial Cup in Rimouski, Que., and lost 4-1 in the championship game 4-1 on Sunday, June 1 to the London Knights.
The Penticton Vees have joined the league as an expansion team, moving up from the BC Hockey League, and the Vees play their first game on the road in Langley on Saturday, Sept. 20, where they will face the Vancouver Giants.
The Vees play their first-ever WHL home game at South Okanagan Events Centre on Friday, Sept. 26, taking on their closest geographic rivals, the Kelowna Rockets.
