The Cariboo Cougars were hoping to entertain the North Island Silvertips this weekend in a two-game pre-Halloween U18 triple-A hockey treat.
Instead, a flu bug has thrown a trick into that plan.
The Silvertips informed league they do not have enough healthy bodies to make the trip from Nanaimo to Prince George to play the Cougars and the B.C. Elite Hockey League has postponed the series.
The games had been scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday and 8:15 a.m. Sunday, both at Kin 1.
“Hopefully those games will get rescheduled sooner rather than later,” said Caleb Wilson, Cariboo Hockey’s director of media relations.
The Cougars want to continue the forward momentum they created a week ago on the road, where they gained three of a possible four points over the Vancouver North West Hawks in North Vancouver. They beat the Hawks 6-2 Saturday and tied them 3-3 on Sunday.
The U18 female triple-A Northern Capitals open a three-game series tonight at 6:45 p.m. at Kin 1 against the Vancouver Island Seals.
Saturday’s game at 5:45 p.m. at Kin 2 is the Capitals Pink in the Rink promotion and they will wear their special jerseys trimmed in pink to create awareness and raise money for cancer research.
The U18 male Cougars were supposed to have their Pink in the Rink promotion on Saturday and Wilson said that will also be rescheduled.
“October is breast cancer awareness month and I think everybody across the board has been affected by cancer to some degree and we’re just trying to do our part to continue to raise awareness,” said Wilson. “Hopefully we’ll get some funds for research. That’s kind of a big deal for everybody to make sure that research continues to go on and we can continue as a group to raise awareness for a great cause.”
The Seals (8-3-0-0) are off to a great start this season and hold down second place in the five-team league. The fourth-place Capitals (4-6-1-0) are coming off a three-win weekend on home ice in which they swept the Greater Vancouver Comets, outscoring the defending champions a combined 12-4.
The Caps and Seals play again Sunday at 8:15 a.m. at Kin 2.
The U15 triple-A Cariboo Cougars are also at home this weekend, hosting the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds Saturday at 5:15 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m., both at Kin 1.
The U15 Cats (2-5-1-0) are seventh in the standings, while the T-birds (4-2-0-0) rank fifth.
The U17 triple-A Cougars (4-2-0-0, fifth place) are in Kelowna this weekend for games Saturday and Sunday against the undefeated Okanagan Rockets (6-0-0-0, first place).
