The Cariboo Cougars needed to be in playoff mode. That was the message from coaches to players this past weekend.
The guys wearing the jerseys responded.
After an 8-4 Saturday drubbing at the hands of the Vancouver Northwest Giants, the visiting Cougars played with much more urgency on Sunday and skated to a 4-3 win.
The doubleheader brought together two of the top teams in the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League and, with playoffs drawing ever closer, Cariboo head coach Trevor Sprague wanted his troops to realize that losing the first game meant victory in the second was imperative. After all, consecutive losses in a best-of-three playoff series means elimination.
Sprague said his players were like "tourists" in the lopsided loss but gave them full credit for their strong performance the next day.
"The guys responded and did very well and it put them in a situation where, if it happens in a couple weeks, they're able to push for a third game," he said. "It showed good character."
With two games remaining in their regular season, the Cougars are in second place with a 27-8-3 record and 57 points. The Giants, who have played two fewer games, sit third at 23-9-4, seven points back of the Cats.
Meanwhile, the league-leading Valley West Hawks (29-6-1) are two points ahead of the Cougars and have two games in hand.
In all likelihood, the Cougars will end the regular season in second place. They would climb into first if they pick up three points against the Okanagan Rockets (currently fourth at 21-10-5) on Feb. 27-28 in Kelowna, and if the Hawks lose their last four games. It's also conceivable that the Giants could knock the Cats down to third place. For that to happen, the Cougars would have to lose both games against the Rockets, and the Giants would have to end the year on a four-game winning streak.
If the Cougars do, in fact, finish second, they will host the seventh-place club in the opening round of playoffs. Right now, that team is the Greater Vancouver Canadians (14-18-6) but the point spread among the bottom four teams is so slim - just two points - that much could change.
Sprague said he wouldn't mind a match-up with the Canadians - not surprising considering the Cats have gone 3-1 against the Canadians this season and have outscored them 25-8.
But, regardless of who the Cougars meet in the best-of-three opening round, the game plan will be pretty much the same.
"It comes down to being consistent in playing the Cariboo Cougar way, and just our mentality on team-first and being disciplined," Sprague said. "It's a special-teams game now, so hopefully we're not going to see guys take selfish penalties or lazy penalties because those kill you. But I'm always good to take a hockey penalty, where it's just a hard play. You can live with those ones.
"We have to play our game," Sprague added. "We have to be physical on our forecheck and we have to be a unit of five when we're in our (defensive) zone. Everybody, pretty much, gets about 20 shifts a game and that's all they have to be good for. They don't have to be good for 60 - just 20 shifts. So to find that consistency and balance is going to be good."
The Cougars have this weekend off so they have plenty of time to prepare for the Rockets. When the Cats and Rockets clashed Nov. 28-29 in Prince George, they played to a split - the Cougars took the opener 2-1 and the Rockets won handily in the second game, 6-1. Ending the regular season against a quality team will help the Cougars stay in that playoff mentality, Sprague said.
"It's not like you're playing (a bottom-three) team," he said. "You're actually playing a team that's going to be in the playoffs and you get to see them and you're fresh on what they're going to do if you see them in the playoffs. Those are two good games that we're going to have there."
Playoffs will start in early March. The eventual champion will advance to face the Alberta winner in a best-of-three Pacific regional series, which will serve as a qualifier for the Telus Cup national championship tournament.
This year's Telus Cup will be held April 18-24 in Quispamsis, N.B. The 2017 event will be played in Prince George, with the Cougars as the host team.
SIDEBAR
Cats have stepped up in absence of key teammates
The Cariboo Cougars have a new leading point-getter, and he's forward Josh Maser of Houston.
Maser, a six-foot-three, 210-pounder who turned 17 last month, has 19 goals and 35 points in 30 games. On the league scoring list, he's currently in 16th place.
Maser, a prospect of the Western Hockey League's Prince Albert Raiders, has passed Cariboo teammate Chase DuBois (14 goals, 34 points in 25 games). DuBois, a Williams Lake product who will be 18 next month, has been sidelined since Jan. 9 with a broken ankle.
The Cougars are also missing key forward Colton Thomas, who suffered a dislocated kneecap at the Mac's tournament in Calgary during the Christmas break. At the time of Thomas's injury, he had been operating at nearly a point-per-game pace (11 goals, 23 points in 26 games). Thomas, who will turn 18 next week, is also from Williams Lake.
Neither DuBois nor Thomas will be available for playoffs.
"We've changed our identity a little bit and it has gone over very well," said Cougars head coach Trevor Sprague. "The guys have made the adjustment without them being in the lineup so we've been pretty happy with that."
