The Cariboo Cougars were in need of a four-point weekend and got it at the expense of the South Island Royals.
The Cougars went into a B.C. Hockey Major Midget League showcase event in Kelowna having lost five of their previous six games against some of the league’s upper-echelon teams. But, against the Royals – who have had difficulties finding the win column this season – the Cats skated to 5-3 and 7-0 victories on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
On Saturday, Cariboo forward Carter Yarish fired three goals, two of them on power plays. Alex Ochitwa and Hunter Brown also scored for the Cougars, who led 3-1 after the first period and 3-2 after the second. Yarish’s third goal – with 7:03 left on the game clock – gave the Cougars some breathing room and then Brown hit an empty net with 3:08 to go. Aleko Sdrakas got one back for the Royals in the final minute but South Island got no closer. Sdrakas finished with two goals and Jack Westhaver had the other one for the Royals.
Kenny Gerow was the winning goaltender and Ryan Dusseault took the loss.
On Sunday, Gerow stopped everything the Royals threw at him. Offensively, meanwhile, Brown led the Cariboo attack with two goals and an assist. Ochitwa, Jaydon Merritt, Yarish, Landon Ingham and Zach Leslie were the other marksmen for the Cougars. The Cats were ahead 1-0 after 20 minutes and broke the game open with four goals in the middle frame.
With the wins, the Cougars bumped their record to 20-10-1-1. With eight games left in the regular season, they’re in fifth place in the 11-team league. The ninth-place Royals dropped to 10-23-1-0.
The Cats will play all of those eight remaining games on home ice at Kin 1. This coming weekend, they’ll welcome the last-place Greater Vancouver Canadians (7-26-0-1). Game times are 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.
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The major bantam Cariboo Cougars made the final of the Okanagan Classic tournament in Kelowna on the weekend but fell 10-3 to Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy.
To get to the championship game, the Cats won quarterfinal and semifinal contests in shootouts. In the quarterfinal, they downed Okanagan Hockey Academy Prep 2-1. Then, in the semifinal round, the Cougars got past St. Albert 3-2. Cariboo goalie Jaiden Jakubowski stopped the final shooter in both those games.
The Cats went 2-1 in preliminary play, with wins against Knights of Columbus (6-4) and Delta Hockey Academy (8-3) and a loss to the North Island Silvertips (4-2).
The Cougars will resume league play this weekend with a pair of home games against the Vancouver Northwest Hawks. The teams will square off on Saturday at Kin 1 (7:45 p.m.) and Sunday at CN Centre (12:45 p.m.).
The Cats are currently in fourth place in the B.C. Hockey Major Bantam League at 11-11-0-2 while the Hawks are eighth and last at 4-15-2-1.
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The Northern Capitals female midget team took on Okanagan Hockey Academy in three exhibition games in Penticton on the weekend and went unbeaten with a pair of wins and a tie. The Capitals prevailed 4-2 in the opener and the clubs then battled to a 3-3 deadlock. In the last game, the Caps skated to a 3-1 victory.
In a return to league play, the Capitals will host the Thompson Okanagan Lakers Friday through Sunday at Kin 2. Game times, in order, are 6:15 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8:30 a.m.
The Caps (10-10-2-0) are third in the B.C. Hockey Female Midget AAA League and the Lakers (8-12-2-0) are fourth.
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In bantam double-A zone competition on the weekend, the North Central Bobcats fell 5-2 to Northeast on Saturday at the Elksentre but bounced back for a 2-2 tie on Sunday at Kin 2. The Bobcats are 2-15-3-0 on the season while Northeast sits at 9-4-2-0.
