Talk about experiencing both ends of the spectrum.
The U15 Cariboo Cougars felt the highest of the highs and the lowest of lows in a pair of matchups against the Okanagan Rockets in Kin 1.
A four-goal second period paced the the high-flying Rockets past the Cougars in a 7-0 thrashing on Saturday night.
Nathan Steele drove the bus offensively for the Rockets, tallying a four-goal performance while Nathan Sluggett, Declen Blondin and Kendal Knox adding singles.
Okanagan outshot Cariboo 47-23 in the contest. Linden Green made 40 saves in defeat for the Cougars while Callum Vos picked up the win in net for the visitors.
On Sunday, Cariboo picked themselves up off the mat and delivered a hard-fought 4-3-character victory over the 18-2 Rockets.
Secondary scoring set the pace for the Cougars as a Jackson Malo tip in and an Antero Ulrich rebound goal gave the hosts a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
The Cougars ran into some penalty trouble in the second as stalwart Rockets defender Aiden Potash blasted a point shot past Cariboo netminder Jayden Avery trimming the deficit to 2-1.
Hendrik Hesselgrave restored to the two-goal advantage for the Cougars picking up a juicy rebound that was slid past Jackson Zinner.
Jaxon Marchischuk notched Okanagan’s second power-play marker of the game, making it 3-2.
Trysten Schmidt restored the two-goal spread for the second time on the man-advantage.
Hudson Bishop lit the lamp late for the Rockets to make it a one-goal game.
At the final buzzer, Potash received a match penalty after connecting several shots to the back of Hesselgrave.
The U15 Cougars improve to 12-10-0-0 on the season and host the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds (19-2-0-0) January 24th and 25th from Kin 1.
In U17 action, Cariboo kept the winning vibes going on the road with a pair of victories against Fraser Valley.
Down 3-1 on Saturday, Cariboo connected with four-unanswered goals skating away with a 5-3 victory.
Sawyer Latkowski notched the game winner with just over three minutes left to give the Cougars the edge.
Garrett Harrop and Rhys Barnes added singles in the third while Brody Bustard added a pair in the win, book-ending the scoring with the first and last goals.
Liam Shea, Drew Holek and Jovan Sangha scored in defeat for the T-Birds.
On Sunday, Cariboo eased its way to 5-2 win over Fraser Valley (11-13-2-0).
The Cougars held leads of 2-0 and 4-1 before putting it in cruise control in the final 20 minutes.
Liam Elstad, Barnes, Bustard, Gavin Parmar and Taryn Willis lit the lamp for Cariboo. Sangha and Volek scored in defeat for Fraser Valley.
The U17’s are 18-8-0-1 on the season, tied for top spot in the nine-team league with the Vancouver Northwest Hawks.
Cariboo returns home this weekend with a pair of games against the Okanagan Rockets (16-8-2-0) Saturday at 5:15pm from the Kopar Memorial Arena and Sunday at 9am from CN Centre.
Cariboo’s U18 program extended its B.C. Elite Hockey League win streak to four games after two victories against the Valley West Giants by scores of 6-2 (Saturday) and 2-1 (Sunday).
Jaxon Larmand, Blake Lambe and Nicholas Gordon paced the offense for the Cougars with a trio of first period markers. Joel Spence replied for the Giants.
In the second, Nathan Marvin Danielson trimmed the deficit to one with an even-strength marker for Valley West.
Not to be outdone, Larmand added his second of the game, while Landon Gillanders joined the offensive party with a goal of his own, extending the Cariboo lead to 5-2 after 40 minutes.
Miller Tedesco added a third period marker to salt away the win.
Larmand’s hot stick carried over into Sunday with a goal along with a Wyatt Callander marker to complete the weekend sweep.
Cody Smethurst collected a third period goal in defeat for the Giants.
Cariboo jumps to 13-8-2-1 and will take on the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds (6-12-3-1) Saturday (6:30pm) and 10am on Sunday from the Ernie Sam Memorial Arena and Fort Forum on Nak’azdli Whut’en territory in Fort Saint James.
In female under-18 action, the Northern Capitals dropped a pair of tight ones on the road against the Fraser Valley Rush by scores of 3-1 and 4-3 (OT).
A three-goal first period from Elena Osterberg, Maddy Dominato and Jiawei Wuan allowed the Rush to run and hide.
Tylor Jensen added a power-play marker in the third period for the Capitals.
Keira Pong made 26 saves in the victory while Taylor Rutter stopped 24 Fraser Valley shots.
On Sunday, the Capitals turned the tables and blasted to the lead like gangbusters.
Sofie Passeri and Paxton Fraser gave the visitors a 2-0 lead.
However, Fraser Valley regained its composure and evened the score prior to intermission thanks to Kalyn Halwas and Dyllann Nelson.
Paige Umbach (Capitals) and Gabby Verbian traded goals in the third to force overtime.
Verbian then played the hero at 2:39 of overtime to cap off the weekend sweep.
The Capitals drop to 8-12-1-1 on the season and gear up for B.C. Winter Classic weekend in Fort Saint James when they welcome the top-ranked Greater Vancouver Comets (15-4-0-0) on Friday at the Ernie Sam Memorial Arena and Saturday morning at 9am from the Vanderhoof Arena.
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