A well-rounded attack helped the Cariboo Cougars open the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League regular season with a weekend sweep against the Kootenay Ice.
In an 8-2 win on Saturday and a 6-0 victory on Sunday, the Cougars got goals from 10 different players. The games were played at the Trail Memorial Centre.
On Sunday, Jeremy Gervais, Myles Mattila, Hunter Floris, Joel Patsey, Mason Richey and Brandon Dent did the offensive damage for the Cats, who got shutout goaltending from Marcus Allen. Mattila and Richey also had two assists, while Craig Macdonald chipped in with three helpers.
The Cougars led 1-0 after the first period and 4-0 after the second.
In Saturday's game, Richey scored twice for the Cats. Other goals were courtesy of Darian Long, Trey Thomas, Patsey, Riley Krane, Dent and Brandon Rowley. Owen Titus and Ethan Jang replied for the Ice.
The Cougars broke the contest open with five goals in the third period, three of them shorthanded (by Krane, Richey and Dent).
Zach Wickson, who made 17 saves, was the winning goaltender.
Floris, from Vanderhoof, was a member of the Ice last season.
This season, another Vanderhoof player, Simon Nemethy, is skating for Kootenay.
The Cougars will be back in uniform this weekend when they play Saturday and Sunday games in Richmond against the North Island Silvertips as part of the BCHMML Showcase.
The Silvertips started their season with a road split against the Thompson Blazers. The Thompson squad prevailed 3-1 in Saturday's opener and the Silvertips bounced back with a 4-2 decision the next day.
Defenceman Jesse Pomeroy has been named captain of the Cougars. The 17-year-old Prince George product is in his third and final tour of duty with the team and hasn't missed a single regular-season game. Pomeroy has committed to the B.C. Hockey League's Salmon Arm Silverbacks for 2017-18. Patsey, Mattila and Thomas are serving as assistant captains, while Daine DuBois has been selected as the coaches' captain.
The Cougars are the host team for the 2017 Telus Cup national midget hockey championship.
The tournament is scheduled for April 24-30 at CN Centre.
