Griffen Outhouse had quite the weekend for the Cariboo Cougars.
The 16-year-old netminder backstopped the B.C. Major Midget League squad to a 3-2 victory Saturday on the road against the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs, and shut the door in the last 10 minutes to help the Cats to a 3-3 tie against the Chiefs on Sunday.
And he also signed with the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League, meaning he'll play with the Cougars this season while the Royals hold his major-junior rights.
"That's credit to our goalie coaches James Morrison and Matt Engel - it's a pretty exciting move," said Cougars general manager and co-head coach Trevor Sprague. "He had a good camp with Victoria and he's played well for us the first two weekends. If they need some more depth next year and he goes and makes it, great. If he doesn't, he still has a good place to play here."
Outhouse's play in the crease on the weekend helped the Cougars improve to 3-0-1 on the season.
On Sunday, Austin Gray scored twice, while Wesley Shipton buried his first of the year. In goal, Dorrin Luding stopped 30 of the 33 shots he faced but was forced to leave the game with an unspecified injury halfway through the third period.
Sunday also saw the addition of 16-year-old defenceman Connor MacEachern to the Cougars roster, which now gives the Cats a full complement of six players on the blueline. MacEachern is listed at six-foot-one and 170 pounds.
On Saturday, the game was all even at 2-2 until defenceman Zach Smith scored the winner. Forward Justin Almeida tallied his first of the season while Darren Hards added his second of the season for the Cougars.
Outhouse was in net for the entire game.
"We had a disallowed goal in the second period on Sunday, otherwise we may have won the game," said Sprague. "The weekend overall was very successful and we faced another good team who challenged us.
"Connor moved from PEI and now lives in Prince George," Sprague added. "He's a big kid and is a good asset. He's bonded well with the rest of the team and he'll fit in on our roster quite well."
Sprague said Luding may need some rest and it will be determined later this week whether he plays when the Cougars host the Vancouver Canadians Saturday (4:45 p.m.) and Sunday (11:30 a.m.) at Kin 1.
Sprague is totally fine if Luding can't go.
"I have no problem if Luding can't play and putting in Outhouse the entire weekend," he said. "They are a pretty good tandem and push each other."
Sprague also knows the Cougars will have to play a complete game to compete with the Canadians.
"We haven't really pulled away from teams yet," he said. "All of our games have been really tight and when we get a lead we need to keep it. We haven't been able to put 60 minutes together yet. We put two good periods together on the weekend, but we'll have to put 60 minutes together against the Canadians."
