With their provincial championship tournament just days away, the Farr Fabricating Cougars needed some positive results.
An exhibition series against the Grande Prairie Storm did the trick.
The bantam Tier 1 Cats, who had lost eight consecutive games in league play, skated to two wins and a tie during weekend minor hockey games at Kin 1. The Cougars silenced the Storm 5-0 and 4-2 on Saturday and then settled for a 6-6 tie on Sunday.
"Basically we wanted to use this weekend to prepare ourselves as much as possible for provincials and I think we've done that," said Gibby Chasse, head coach of the 13- and 14-year-old Cats. "I liked our competitiveness. There were a couple of times where we broke down but that's expected with this age group. I liked how they never quit -- it's a team concept and that's what they believed in and they did extremely well."
At provincials, Monday to Thursday in Kamloops, the Cougars will represent the north central zone.
Because they are the only bantam Tier 1 team in this region, the Cats played their regular-season games in the Okanagan Mainline Amateur Hockey Association. In their final eight outings, they met the Okanagan Hockey Academy four times and Pursuit of Excellence four times. Against those specialized teams, which have no geographical boundaries in the stocking of their rosters, the Cougars went winless and were outscored 57-11.
So yes, against the Storm, the Cats wanted to prove to themselves they were still on track for the provincial gathering, where they won't see the likes of OHA and Pursuit.
"They were great games [against Grande Prairie], and we won two, so it's a good little streak going into provincials," said Farr Fab captain Bryan Allbee. "It puts some more confidence into our game."
Allbee said the lopsided losses to OHA and Pursuit have ultimately benefited the team.
"We lost those eight in a row but it helped out because it was hard competition and it only made us better," he said.
At the B.C. championship, the Cats will clash with Kelowna and Kamloops on opening day. The rest of their schedule has them facing the Burnaby Winter Club, the Victoria Racquet Club and Cloverdale. The top two teams from round robin will battle for the B.C. banner on March 22.
Chasse said his club has no superstars so maximum effort from every player will be required for the Cats to have some success on provincial ice.
"We have to win or lose as a team," he said. "We're blue collar, we have to create our own chances and make our own breaks. I thought we did that well this weekend [against the Storm]."
Other members of the Cats are Quinn Ferris, Alex Hinsche, Todd Bredo, Zach Smith, Christopher Jandric, Andrew Cryderman, Colton Faucher, Steven Jandric, Markus Plamondon, Austin Gray, Trevor Gagne, Brogan O'Brien, Dallas Goodwin, Chris Metcalfe, Koltin Chasse and Isaiah Berra.
