The first midget hockey outdoor game in Canada is taking place on from the Ernie Sam Memorial Arena in Fort Saint James.
The Cariboo Cougars and Vancouver North East Chiefs get to renew their long-standing rivalry as well as relive some childhood memories on Sunday during the BCMML Winter Classic at 2 PM.
The whole experience leading up to the game has been great.
“Nak’azdli Whut’en and Fort Saint James have been really good and it’s an exciting time for them to build youth in hockey in that area again and have the support of both communities as well as Prince George who have been awesome to help us out on a few things as well,” said Trevor Sprague, Cariboo Cougars General Manager.
At 339 am our last flood of the night #sleeptime #zamboni ready to go to work @cariboocougars @NakazdliWhuten #DefendTheNorth pic.twitter.com/6QSoYP9Ycu
— Trevor Sprague (@Boston771) January 18, 2019
Sprague adds having his team play in the first ever BCMML Winter Classic is a huge honor.
“For our team to be the first in Canada to host it is unbelievable, it means a lot to us especially with hockey in the north and being able to do it first and maybe getting more involvement out of the junior ranks in the next couple of years to be able to make it bigger and better obviously would be the thing we would like.”
“One thing that Fort Saint James brings is hockey. You know, they’ve got Jim Playfair, the community loves hockey and when we go there and play hockey games the fans bring a great atmosphere and the businesses show good support and it’s something for us as an organization to give back to them as well.”
The battle features two of the top three teams in the major midget ranks with the Chiefs ranking second overall with a record of 17-5-2-2, three points ahead of Cariboo who are in third with a record of 16-5-3-0.
While it may be January on the calendar, Sprague expects the post-season to come a wee bit early.
“It’s playoff hockey. You know, there can be a few things that can be a distraction but when it gets out on to the ice it’s playing a game. We’ve shown we can play playoff hockey we just have to show that consistency in playing that way but we have the guys in the room to be able to do it.”
“We learned a lot about our hockey club during the Macs Tournament and our guys should be well rested into this weekend ready to show a good performance.”
A fan bus is leaving Prince George for the game at 11:30 AM from Kin 1 on a first come, first serve basis.
The first game of the doubleheader is being at the Fort Forum on Saturday at 5 PM.
Some great people We do not hear from Rolen Sam / Cassandra Thomas /Christie Hoy #thankyouladys #DefendTheNorth @NakazdliWhuten pic.twitter.com/PwGXDqrixc
— Cariboo Cougars (@cariboocougars) January 18, 2019