The Prince George Cougars have fired head coach Dean Clark.

Cougars general manager Dallas Thompson made the announcement early Tuesday afternoon.

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Clark signed a five-year contract in April 2009 to become head coach of the Cougars. Since then he has led the Cougars to a record of 83-163-5-11.

In three complete seasons with Clark behind the bench the Cougars have missed the playoffs twice, finishing fifth in the division. They last made the playoffs in 2010-11 and were eliminated that year in the first round.

The Cougars currently rank ninth in the Western Conference with a 14-26-2-4 record, second worst in the Western Hockey League.

"We would like to thank Dean for his commitment to the Prince George Cougars organization for the past 3 1/2 seasons," said Prince George Cougars vice president Brandi Brodsky, in a statement sent to the Citizen.

The Cougars, who host the Prince Albert Raiders Wednesday night at CN Centre, have not announced who will take over as head coach for Clark.