It was a whirlwind of a weekend both on and off the ice for Prince George’s top minor hockey clubs.
While the Northern Capitals were able to squeak out their first victory of the exhibition schedule in Williams Lake, the Cariboo Cougars, at all levels, had their schedule at a tournament in Abbotsford come to a temporary halt by B.C.’s provincial health officer.
On Saturday (Nov. 7), Dr. Bonnie Henry announced new public health orders specific to the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health authorities preventing all indoor contact sports from competing for two weeks until 12 p.m. on Nov. 23.
This is a direct result of the overwhelming COVID-19 case spike in the two regions, which have contributed to triple-digit daily counts in the last two weeks.
She said the order discourages travel in and out of these areas such as Abbotsford, except for those classified as essential, which the Cougars had been doing each weekend for the 2020 Cohort Cup since the middle of October.
This past weekend, the Under-18 AAA club only played two of its three-game schedule as a result of the order, while the Under-15s won’t be heading down Highway 97 south for its next set of contests this Friday (Nov. 13), nor will the Under-16s the following Friday (Nov. 20).
According to viaSport BC’s latest update to COVID-19 protocols, once the order is over, the provincial health office will review the data and rates of transmission before making a decision on whether or not to continue the restrictions, modify them or remove them.
Following the new restrictions announced by the PHO, all hockey games in the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Valley Health regions are to be cancelled/postponed effective 10pm tonight until further notice.We’re working with @viaSportBC and will provide further updates when available
— BC Hockey (@BCHockey_Source) November 7, 2020
The orders do not apply to Northern Health, meaning Prince George teams can still have full contact games and practices and can only travel within its own authority as well as Interior Health.
As of this publication (Nov. 10), there are no public plans made by the Cohort Cup organizers for future games beyond Nov. 23 as they’re likely to wait and see the outcome of COVID-19 cases and the go-ahead from Dr. Henry to resume competition.
RESULTS
CARIBOO U-18 COUGARS
The Cougars haven’t won a game since their Cohort Cup opener and have fallen to 1-3-1 through five games of the originally scheduled three-month tourney.
On Saturday, a back-and-forth scoring contest had the Cats either tied with Vancouver North East or within one goal through until the first six minutes of the third period.
The final frame, however, tipped in favour of the Chiefs as they pulled away to a 7-4 downing of Cariboo with two goals 67 seconds apart.
In the evening, the Cougars and Vancouver North West Hawks ended in a 3-3 draw after overtime solved nothing.
The Sunday morning (Nov. 8) meeting with Greater Vancouver was cancelled.
Carter Yarish led the way on the scoresheet on the weekend with four points, including three assists, while Kellan Brienen, Nico Myatovic and Hayden Smith each recorded two points each.
NORTHERN CAPITALS
Prince George’s female squad split its exhibition weekend against the Thompson-Okanagan Lakers, 1-1.
Brooklyn Hutchings potted two pucks and goaltender Karsyn Niven earned her first Under-18 AAA win en route to the Caps’ 4-1 triumph on Saturday.
On Sunday, the Lakers scored with 10 seconds left to beat the Northern Capitals 4-3 at the Cariboo Memorial Complex, lowering their November record to 1-3-1.
Hailey Armstrong contributed two goals in the loss, while Brette Kerley assisted on all three red and white markers; she led the team with four points in two games.
Armstrong and Nancy Moore each picked up three points, while Pype Alexander recorded two helpers.
The ladies will be off to Vernon this weekend, Nov. 13-15, for a trip of matches against the Lakers, but the Caps’ home series against the Greater Vancouver Comets has been cancelled as a result of Dr. Henry’s order.
Top shelf #12 Moore #bchockey #femalehockey #FMAAA pic.twitter.com/OaILP1I1Wh
— Julia Moore (@Joolzz9) November 9, 2020
CARIBOO U-16 COUGARS
The Cats once again went 1-2 in its second round of the Cohort Cup on the Halloween weekend.
Parker White scored the game-winner with 2:13 left on the clock the morning of Oct. 31 to beat the Vancouver North East Chiefs 4-3 and with Owen Reed between the pipes.
Cariboo were then shut out 3-0 by Vancouver North West Halloween night before losing to Greater Vancouver the Sunday morning (Nov. 1) by a score of 5-2.
Dylan Illet recorded a team-high three points on the weekend, including a goal and two assists.
CARIBOO U-15 COUGARS
The Cats have yet to find a win in its edition of the Cohort Cup, losing all three games in the second wave of games Oct. 24 and 25.
The scores were a 9-4 loss to Vancouver North East, 4-3 decision to Vancouver North West and a 4-2 setback by Greater Vancouver.
Cameron Schmidt continues to dominate for Cariboo on offense, scoring six of the team’s nine goals that weekend, including hat-tricks in the first two contests.
He’s tallied 13 goals in six Cohort Cup games up until the pause.
