Cougars versus Giants, again.
For the third year in a row, the Cariboo Cougars and Vancouver Northwest Giants will battle for the playoff championship in the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League. The Burnaby-based Giants celebrated victories in 2010 and 2011 but Cariboo head coach Trevor Sprague envisions a different outcome this time.
"I hope the tides have turned, maybe," he said with a chuckle. "Third time for the Cariboo Cougars to actually come out on top, but time will tell and we'll see what happens."
The 15- to 17-year-old Cougars reserved their spot in the championship series when they beat the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs 4-1 Saturday night at Kin 1. In the best-of-three semifinal series, the Cats took Friday's opener 6-2.
The Giants, meanwhile, went the distance and then some in their semifinal against the underdog Greater Vancouver Canadians. The Giants prevailed 4-1 on Friday, lost 2-1 on Saturday and then survived with a 3-2 overtime decision on Sunday.
The Giants and Cougars finished first and second respectively during the regular season. The Chiefs were third and the Canadians were fifth.
The best-of-three final will start Friday night in Burnaby.
On Monday, see The Citizen and pgcitizen.ca for more.
