Consecutive wins over the Greater Vancouver Canadians over the weekend moved the Cariboo Cougars into a first-place tie with the Valley West Hawks atop the B.C. Major Midget Hockey league standings.
The Cougars (17-6-3) have now won six in a row to pull even with the Hawks (18-5-1), who were idle this past weekend.
Sunday in Richmond, Cougars rookie forward Trey Thomas of Williams Lake collected two goals and two assists to lead the Cougars to a 7-1 victory. His 17-year-old brother Colton also scored. Other Cougar goalscorers were Riley Coish (shorthanded), Ethan O'Rourke, Tyler Maser, and Josh Maser. The Canadians' goal came from Brennan Gaytmenn, 39 seconds into the third period
The Cougars outshot the Canadians 32-14.
In a 6-2 win over Vancouver on Saturday, Tyler Ho had two goals and two assists, while Chase DuBois also scored twice for the Cougars. Joel Patsey and Ty Kolle replied with singles. Tyler Lin scored both goals for the Canadians.
Shots were 38-22 in the Cougars' favour. Greater Vancouver (11-11-3) remains seventh in the league.
The Cougars will leave Christmas Day for Calgary, where they will try to defend their Mac's midget tournament title from last year. They open Sunday against the Lloydminster Bandit Pipeline Bobcats, starting at 8 a.m. PST.
The Cougars are pooled with the Bobcats, CFR Chemical Bisons (Calgary), Ontario Avalanche, and the Yorkton (Sask.) Rawtec Maulers.
The Valley West Hawks, Vancouver Northwest Giants, South Island Royals, Okanagan Rockets and Vancouver Northeast Chiefs will also represent the BCMMHL at the 25-team male tournament.
Meanwhile, in B.C. Female Triple-A Midget Hockey League action over the weekend in Coquitlam, the Northern Capitals of Prince George posted a win and two losses in their first-place showdown with the Greater Vancouver Comets.
On Sunday, the Capitals blew a 2-0 lead in the third period and the Comets scored five unanswered goals to win 5-2. Taylor Beck opened the scoring on a Capitals' power play in the first period and Victoria Byer doubled the lead 7:04 into the second period. But the Comets responded in the third with two goals and an assist from league scoring leader Elexa Pakozdy and singles from Jenna Velji, Danika Pasqua and Tiffany Chiu. That win boosted the Comets (15-4-2) into sole possession of first place, two points ahead of the second-place Capitals (14-5-2).
On Saturday, Byer scored a shorthanded goal 5:48 into the second period for the gamewinner in a 3-1 win over the Comets. Jordan Shanks opened the scoring in the first period and McKenzie Muir added some insurance in the final frame. Cierra Paisley scored for the Comets.
The Comets opened the series Friday with a penalty-filled 4-0 triumph. Pakozdy spiced the Vancouver offence with three goals and an assist. Mya Taylor notched the other goal for the Comets. The Comets went 1-for-9 on the power play, while the Capitals were 0-for-7.
The Capitals will also travel to Calgary to play in the Mac's tournament starting on Saturday at 1 p.m. against the Melville (Sask.) Prairie Fire. The Capitals and Melville share a pool with the Calgary Fire and the Vancouver Island Seals.
The Capitals and Seals will represent the B.C. league, along with the Kootenay Wild and Fraser Valley Rush.
