The venue has changed but the mission remains the same for the Thompson-Okanagan Lakers.
Find a way to beat the Northland Dodge Northern Cougars.
That's a puzzle that's mystified most teams in the B.C. Female Midget triple-A Hockey League but the Lakers have already proven they have the answer. That happened Sept. 26 in Vernon, where the Lakers posted a 2-1 Lakers' victory over the Prince George-based Cougars in the first of a three-game set.
It was the last time this season the Cougars (13-2-0) have suffered a loss. They've won 11 straight since then, including last weekend's three-game sweep of the Vancouver Island Hurricanes in Campbell River. The Cougars' only other loss happened Sept. 20 at Kin 1 when they fell 5-0 defeat to the West Coast Avalanche.
The Lakers will try to solve the Cougars tonight at 7 at the Coliseum, the start of a three-game weekend series which continues Saturday at 9:15 a.m. and Sunday at 8:25 a.m., both at the Coliseum. The Cougars usual home ice at Kin 1 is being used this weekend for the B.C./Yukon section figure skating championships.
The Cougars are the highest-scoring team in the five-team league with 63 goals in 15 games and rank second to the Avalanche in team defence, with 23 goals against, one more than the Coquitlam-based Avalanche.
Cougars forward Ava Keis, a native of Quesnel, and Sage Desjardins, originally from Terrace, lead the league in scoring, each with 25 points. Desjardins has 12 goals and 13 assists, while Keis has nine goals and 16 assists. Marissa Nichol (7-14-21) and Hunter Mosher (6-11-17) are the other Cougars in the top-four in league scoring.
