The last time the Cariboo Cougars were on the same ice as the Valley West Hawks, they were handed a pair of humbling losses. To make any kind of a run in playoffs, the Cats will have to make sure that doesn't happen again.
The Cougars will battle the Hawks in a B.C. Hockey Major Midget League semifinal series that will start Friday night in Prince George. The Cats, who finished second in the regular season, had a bye to the semifinal round, and the third-place Hawks booked their spot in the semis when they dumped the sixth-place Vancouver Northeast Chiefs 7-0 and 7-3 on the weekend.
When the Hawks were last in town, Dec. 18-19, they hammered the Cougars 6-1 and 7-1.
"I'm sure we're not going to come into our own building and play soft and give up opportunities for them to score goals when we don't need to," said Cougars head coach Trevor Sprague. "It's like any Vancouver team, you've got to hit them. Our best players have got to play physical. If they choose not to play physical, that's going to be the difference between the Hawks and us. The Hawks do bring a physical game to the ice and we're going to have to match that, and match that intensity, and we're going to have to capitalize on our opportunities."
All games in the best-of-three series will be played at Kin 1. Game 1 is Friday at 7:15 p.m. and Game 2 is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. on Saturday. If a third game is required, it will start at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
The Cougars did win their first two regular-season contests against the Hawks. On Oct. 2-3 in Surrey and Langley, the Cats prevailed 5-1 and 4-3.
During the season, the Cougars (28-11-1) and Hawks (24-8-8) were separated by just one point in the standings.
In the other semifinal, the first-place Vancouver Northwest Giants (29-4-7) will host the fourth-place Greater Vancouver Canadians (23-11-6).
The Giants had a free pass to the semifinals and the Canadians downed the fifth-place South Island Thunderbirds in the maximum three games in a weekend quarterfinal series. The T-birds won the opener 3-2 and the Canadians rebounded for a 7-4 victory in Game 2. In Sunday's deciding game, the Canadians eked out a 2-1 decision.
