The Cariboo Cougars lived up to their BC Elite Hockey League U18 triple-A first-round playoff expectations.
The top-seeded Cougars completed a two-game series sweep of the Thompson Blazers with a 3-0 triumph Saturday at Kin 2.
Nicolas Gendron, on a power play, and Jaxon Larmand, while shorthanded, staked the Cats to a 2-0 lead in the first period and Cariboo scoring leader Rylan Bissett capped it with a goal late in the third period.
Andrik Lygas stopped all 21 shots for the shutout as his team outshot the Blazers 46-21.
Cariboo opened the playoffs Friday at Kin 2 with a 9-4 win.
Bissett and Larmand each fired a pair in the series opener. Nicholas Gendron, Beau Murray, Riley Lettington, Jack Tidsbury and Ben Fomenoff also got into the scoring act.
Isaac Gossen, Levi Rotvold, Kieran McMillan and Linden Dellman were the Blazers’ goalscorers.
Jaxson Dikur made 31 saves in net for the Cougars, who held a 51-31 shot advantage.
The Cougars advance to the semifinals against Vancouver North West Hawks starting Friday at Kin 1 (3:45 p.m.). Game 2 is set for Saturday at 3 p.m., Kin 1. If Game 3 is needed that would be played Sunday at 9 a.m.
The Cougars clinched first place with a 26-6-3-1 record, while the Hawks (16-13-3-4) finished fourth.
The other semifinal pits the second-place Valley West Giants (25-0-0-1) against the third-place Okanagan Rockets (21-12-2-1).
Meanwhile, in the U18 triple-A female division, the Northern Capitals of Prince George begin their playoff quest Friday in Langley. The second-place Rush (16-12-1-3) finished three points ahead of the third-place Capitals (16-15-0-1) in the 32-game regular season.
Game 1 is set for Friday at 6:15 p.m. in Langley, with Game 2 follow Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Game 3, if necessary, is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
The U15 Cariboo Cougars went 3-1 in the playoff tournament, losing 5-1 to Okanagan Rockets in the championship game March 2 in Langley.
The U17 Cariboo Cougars pushed the Vancouver North West Hawks to the limit in their playoff series in North Vancouver (Feb. 28-March 2). The Cougars lost Game 1 3-1, defeated the Hawks 3-1 in Game 2, then lost 7-2 in the deciding game.
