The Cariboo Cougars will get the chance to defend their title at the Mac's AAA Midget Hockey Tournament.
The team got the news from tournament organizers on Monday night. The Mac's - the world's most prestigious hockey gathering in the midget age group - has been held every year since 1978. Based in Calgary, it starts on Boxing Day and wraps up on New Year's Day.
Last year, the 15- to 17-year-old Cougars advanced to the championship game, where they beat the Regina Pat Canadians 2-1 in double overtime.
Trevor Sprague, head coach and general manager of the Cougars, is happy the club is officially back in the Mac's, which is an invitation-only tournament. He's also aware that coming in as the defending champ is going to make this year's Mac's a huge challenge.
"That's the biggest thing that probably these (Cougars players) haven't even thought about - that every single team at the Mac's is going to be gunning for them," Sprague said. "So whoever's in our pool is going to say, 'OK, these guys won it last year, let's not take them lightly.' Their coaching staffs are going to watch video on us, they're going to scout properly on what our work habits are, what our defensive zone is like. The teams that we'll play the first four games are going to be prepared to play us, and they'll play us hard."
The Cougars compete in the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League and currently hold down second place with a 9-5-2 record. Sprague said the first-place Vancouver Northwest Giants (11-3-0), third-place Valley West Hawks (9-4-1) and fifth-place South Island Royals have also been invited to the Mac's. The Royals (8-4-2) are one point back of the fourth-place Okanagan Rockets (9-6-1) but have played two fewer games.
See more on this story in Friday's Citizen.
