The top two teams in the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League battle each other this weekend at Kin 1.
That would be the first-place Cariboo Cougars (13-2-1) taking on the second-place Vancouver Northwest Giants (12-2).
The Cats maintained their lead atop the league with a pair of wins - 8-1 and 4-1 - against the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds this past weekend at CN Centre.
The Giants kept pace with the Cougars by defeating the Thompson Blazers 3-1 and 5-2.
The Giants and Cougars take to the ice at Kin 1 Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 9:45 a.m.
"The Giants are great rivals of ours - they've kicked our butts a few times and we're hoping to do the same [to them] this weekend," said Cougars co-coach and general manager Trevor Sprague. "I'm sure [Cougars goaltender Dorrin] Luding will be at the top of his game and [Cougars forward Justin] Almeida will be playing against some of his old friends."
Even though he grew up in Kitimat, Almeida spent last season playing for the provincial and Western Canadian bantam champion North Shore Winterhawks in Vancouver.
With a 7-1-1 record, Luding is tied atop the league with teammate Griffen Outhouse, who also has seven wins and a loss. Luding will get the start between the pipes this weekend, chasing his eighth win for the Cougars.
Outhouse has been called up by the WHL team that holds his major junior rights, the Victoria Royals. He'll leave today to join the squad.
Jake Sweet, the Coast Inn of the North midget Tier 1 Cougars netminder, will back up Luding.
Luding was in net for the Cougars 4-1 win Sunday against the T-birds. Mitchell Williams, Chase Dubois, Austin Gray (shorthanded) and Riley Coish notched the goals.
On Saturday, Outhouse backstopped the team in the 8-1 win.
Almeida scored a natural hat trick in the first 13 minutes of the opening period and added his fourth goal of the game on a power play in the final frame.
Dubois added a pair of goals in the second period, Keith Redden scored on a penalty shot and Myles Mattila closed out the scoring.
"On Saturday we were a puck-pursuing hockey team and didn't give them too many chances," said Sprague. "Justin's four goals on Saturday - that's how he needs to dominate. On Sunday we didn't come out as strong and didn't compete on the puck hard enough. Our power forwards were the ones scoring the goals and Gray's shorty [shorthanded goal] set the wheels in motion for us for the next three goals."
LOOSE PUCKS: Sprague won't be on the bench this weekend for the Cariboo Cats. As a scout for the WHL's Prince George Cougars, he'll be in Medicine Hat.... Gray, a 17-year-old first-year forward for the Cougars, was named the Major Midget League player of the month for October on Monday. He finished October with seven goals and five assists. He leads the league in scoring with 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists).
