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Midget Cats in contention for B.C. title

Justin Fillion wanted a more complete effort and he got it. In the first two games of the B.C.
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Landon Kitchen of the Coast Inn of the North Cougars goes wide around the outstretched stick of Dawson Wolf of the Chilliwack Bruins on Wednesday at Kin 1. The two teams met in the B.C. Hockey midget Tier 1 provincial championship.

Justin Fillion wanted a more complete effort and he got it.

In the first two games of the B.C. Hockey midget Tier 1 provincial championship tournament, the head coach of the Coast Inn of the North Cougars had seen his team fall behind and then stage furious third-period comebacks to win. But, on Tuesday night at Kin 1, the Cougars were fired up as soon as they hit the ice and skated to a 3-1 victory against the Kamloops-based Thompson Lions.

"It was definitely a lot better, more consistent game for us," Fillion said. "We started from the drop of the puck and played hard. Kamloops, they gave us a push for sure. I think they knew their tournament lives were on the line and they came out and gave everything they had."

With the loss, the Lions slipped to 1-2 and no longer have a chance to play in today's championship game.

In the Cougars-Lions clash, the teams were tied 1-1 after the first period. Thompson's Brendan Roche opened the scoring at the 15:55 mark and Tyler Marsh drew Prince George even at 18:05.

The Cougars got what proved to be the winning goal half way through the second period when Chase Schurack connected on a power play. Off a cycle, Schurack got the puck and broke for the middle of the ice near the top of the faceoff circles. He found some open space, and, with the chance to shoot, went high and beat goaltender Kendra Woodland.

Near the end of the second period, while the Cougars were killing a kneeing penalty to Landon Kitchen, 15-year-old Brandon Dent scored a shorthanded insurance marker. The goal was his fourth in three games.

"He definitely has the ability to be the best player in this tournament," Fillion said. "Luckily for us, he's been showing that. That line - he plays with Craig Macdonald and Tyler Marsh - I think they all have really elevated their games this tournament. You can see they really want to win and they're carrying us when we need to be carried."

In the third period, the Lions did their best to get back in the game but Cougars goalie Jake Sweet blocked everything they threw at him. Sweet was excellent the entire game, much like he was when he stopped 47 of 50 shots in a 5-3 Monday win against the Coquitlam Chiefs.

"He played big again," Fillion said. "Our goaltending has been our strength (this season). We're so fortunate to have two solid goaltenders (the other being Aaron Jakubowski), and Jake played unbelievable. We got into some penalty trouble and he was our best penalty-killer."

The Cougars were whistled for 11 minor infractions so that's an area in which Fillion and the coaching staff would like to see an improvement.

"We definitely have to stay out of the penalty box," Fillion said. "That's kind of been our Achilles heel. Some penalties are deserved, some are a bit iffy, but at the end of the day we've still got to find a way to stay out of the penalty box. Against a good team that has a good power play, they'll make us pay every time."

The Cougars were back in action in Wednesday night's late game against the Chilliwack Bruins. Both teams entered the contest - which was still in progress at The Citizen's press deadline - with 3-0 records.

The six-team tournament wraps up today at Kin 1. Coquitlam (2-2 record after a 1-0 Wednesday loss to the Lions) and Chilliwack will meet at 10:45 a.m., while the Cougars will close out round robin against the Saanich Braves (1:30 p.m. start time).

The top two teams will skate for the B.C. banner at 7:30 p.m. The Cougars entered provincials as the defending champion.