The Cariboo Cougars couldn't help but feel they let two points slip through their grasp.
After a 5-1 home-ice victory against the Kootenay Ice in a Saturday B.C. Hockey Major Midget League contest, the Cougars gave a lethargic performance on Sunday and fell 5-3.
The Cats (now 25-6-3-0) are one of the top clubs in the 11-team league and the Ice (9-19-0-4) are among the weaker squads.
Cougars head coach Tyler Brough was less than impressed with Sunday's effort.
"We couldn't have stressed it any more that (the Ice) were going to come in and work hard, and not to look at the standings, and we see what they were coming in with as far as their roster because we knew this - to get the effort that we did with the group we have is super frustrating and we have to rectify it or our season will come to an end in the first round of the playoffs," Brough said on the Cougars' website.
"We are challenging our top players now and this is the time of year that we need them - we're working down the stretch for first place and as much as we can tell these guys that a lot of people didn't put us there, we are there now.
"We need the effort from our top guys whether we are playing Kootenay, Fraser Valley or Valley West. Any of those teams that show up to work, our top guys need to be ready to go."
In the Sunday game, Ice forwards Simon Nemethy and Booker Daniel - both of whom hail from Vanderhoof and were one-time Cougar prospects - combined for three goals and four assists.
"There (are) five or six guys on that roster from our region and the both of them (Nemethy and Daniel) came in with authority and they showed up for a reason - to show us we're wrong and on the other side of it," Brough said. "Our guys need to show that we're right. Right now I'm not seeing enough of it and we have to fix it and we have to fix it fast."
The Cougars got goals from Brandon Dent, Hunter Floris and Lane Goodwin but never led in the game.
Nemethy had two goals for the Ice and Daniel had one. Other markers came from Keenan Crossman and Mason McLeod.
In Saturday's win, Tanner Bahm scored twice for the Cougars, while Max Arnold, Dent and Paul Hauk also found the Ice net. Nemethy had the lone goal for the visitors, with assists from Booker and McLeod.
The Cougars will be in Abbotsford this Saturday and Sunday for games against the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds (21-9-1-1).
After the doubleheader, the Cats will have just four games remaining in the regular season.
