The Kootenay Ice haven't won a game and have been outscored 45-5. The Cariboo Cougars, on the other hand, are one of the elite teams in the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League.
But, if the Cariboo players are planning on taking a leisurely skate during games today and Sunday against the Ice, head coach Trevor Sprague has a message for them.
"If our guys are going to go into the weekend thinking it's going to be cookie night, Kootenay will have a different plan," he said. "They're going to come out and play us hard. Every team plays us hard. If we're selfish and underestimate the team we're playing against, that's going to hurt us."
The Cats and Ice will face off today at 4:15 p.m. at CN Centre. On Sunday, the teams will square off at 10:15 a.m. at the same rink.
The Ice enter the doubleheader with a 0-6 record and are in last place in the 11-team MML.
The Cougars currently sit third, at 6-2. They suffered their first two losses of the season last weekend in Langley against the Vancouver Northwest Giants (6-0). The games ended 4-3 and 6-5 in favour of the G-men.
The Okanagan Rockets are on top of the standings with a 6-1-1 record.
Sprague said "little things" cost his team against Vancouver Northwest.
"Overall we played very well," he said. "We made mistakes that you'd make in October and when you see us at Christmas time or in February or March, I don't think you're going to see those same mistakes being made."
Today's game against the Ice will double as the Cariboo club's Jameson Jones B.C. Children's Hospital Fundraiser. Admission will be by donation.
Jones has twice beaten cancer in his young life.
"The first two times we did it, we did it for Jameson," Sprague said. "We raised the money and sent it down to him because he was down there. Now that he's back to 100 per cent and a pretty inspiring individual for our hockey team, we want to give back to Ronald McDonald House and also the Children's Hospital. My daughter spent a few days there as well, and Jameson obviously spent a lot of time there and was treated very well and that helped him beat his cancer."
