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Cougars off to roaring start

The Northland Dodge Northern Female Cougars finished with a win, a tie and a loss over the weekend at a tournament in Surrey.

The Northland Dodge Northern Female Cougars finished with a win, a tie and a loss over the weekend at a tournament in Surrey.

The Cougars, formerly the Prince George Female Cougars, are one of six teams in the BC Hockey Female Midget AAA League.

“Our zone is from 100 Mile House north and we are based out of Prince George,” said team manager Scott Forrest. “[Our roster has] seven players from Prince George, three from Williams Lake and Chetwynd, two from Quesnel and one each from Kitimat, Terrace, Smithers, Houston and Fort St. John.”

Williams Lake’s Chantelle Beadman-Rolph, a returning player with the Cougars, plus Victoria Byer and Tessa Hare are currently billeting, going to school and playing hockey in Prince George for the Cougars.

On the weekend the Northern Cougars fell short in its opener, 2-0, to the Kootenay Wildcats.

After two scoreless periods and the Northern Cougars dominating the play Kootenay scored its first goal at the 10-minute mark of the third period after a scramble in front of the net.

The Northern Cougars kept the pressure on outshooting Kootenay 36-9, but couldn’t beat the Wildcats’ netminder. Kootenay added an empty-net goal late for the 2-0 win.

In its second game the Northern Cougars faced the North Coast Avalanche.

The Cougars, once again, dominated on the shot clock with a decisive 34-12 advantage but, again, the team had a difficult time finding the back of the net in a 2-2 tie.

The Northern Cougars’ third and final game of the weekend was against the Vancouver Island Hurricanes.

“This was a back and forth game with excellent chances at both ends of the rink — the Cougars again outshooting [the Hurricanes] 26-15,” Forrest said.

The Cougars, with a 2-1 lead late in the third period, added an empty-netter to seal the deal in a 3-1 win.

“Overall this was a successful weekend getting three of six points,” Forrest said.

“It was encouraging from a coaching standpoint to see the effort the team put forward over the weekend.

“With some luck and capitalizing on a few more chances the team could have taken six points.”

Currently the Northern Cougars sit third in its league standings with three wins, one loss and two ties.

The Cougars next home games are coming up Oct. 25-27 in Prince George against the Fraser Valley Phantoms.