Even short-staffed, the WIC Cougars had plenty of bite.
The local bantam girls rep hockey team skated against Kamloops in a pair of weekend exhibition games and won both. On the ice in Lac La Hache, the 13- and 14-year-old Cougars recorded a 7-1 victory on Saturday and prevailed 3-2 on Sunday.
In the opener, the Cougars -- for various reasons -- were missing four players from their lineup. The next day, they were still two bodies short.
"The team proved itself in its ability to have positive results even when playing with a depleted squad," said WIC coach Don Knoop. "The girls are sticking to team game plans and playing smart positional hockey."
In the first game, Kelly Shawara and Ava Keis both netted hat tricks for the Cats. Shawara's performance was noteworthy because she did all that damage while fighting off a flu bug. Jasmine Funk also scored for the Cougars, who had Kourtney Trudeau stopping pucks for them.
In Sunday's much closer contest, Shawara connected for two more goals and Tanisha Hamilton had a single. Avery Quiring was the winning goaltender.
The Cats will be back in uniform this coming weekend. They'll be in Kamloops for exhibition tilts against Kamloops, Kelowna and Salmon Arm.
The Cougars are now three weeks away from their provincial championship tournament, which will be held in Kelowna. Along with North Shore, Richmond and West Kootenay, they are considered a contender for gold.
