Playing at home is a big advantage and the Cariboo Cougars have run with it so far in the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League playoffs.
Four playoff games have resulted in four wins and that's given the Cougars a berth in the league final and chance to win their second-straight championship on home ice, just like they did last year at Kin 1.
The Fraser Valley Thunderbirds are here to disrupt that plan and will be vying for their first-ever major midget championship when they face off against the Cougars tonight at 7:15 in the first game of the best-of-three series.
"Being comfortable at home is big for us, sleeping in our own beds and having home-cooked meals and having our friends and family here is huge as well," said Cougars head coach Tyler Brough.
The Cougars won three of the four regular-season games over the T-birds. Fraser Valley (25-13-1-1) finished third in the season standings, 11 points back of the second-place Cougars (30-7-3-0).
"I'm comfortable with the matchup, they bring a high-octane offence down to us and they have a couple high-end forwards who do a lot of their scoring," said Brough. "We just have to do our job."
Forward Brandon Rowley has a shoulder injury and the Cougars will replace him with an affiliated player. The Cougars have no other injuries and will welcome back starting goalie Marcus Allen, who tweaked his knee in Game 1 of the semifinal series with the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs.
Game 2 is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Saturday, with Game 3, if needed, set for Sunday at 10:30 a.m., all at Kin 1.
The winning team will host the Pacific regional series next weekend, which will determine who represents the region in the Telus Cup national midget championship, April 23-29 in Sudbury, Ont.
