December 4, 2014 – By Israel Fehr

With the league’s best offence and defence, it’s no surprise to find the Cariboo Cougars at the top of the BCMML’s standings through the season’s first 20 games with a 17-2-1 record.

The Cougars have scored 104 goals and only given up 40 at the midway point of the campaign. Paced by league leading scorer and captain Austin Gray (20-17-37), who recently signed with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks and will join them next season, Cariboo places six players among the league’s top 20 scorers and three in the top five.

Over the last two weekends the Cougars faced off against the NW Giants and the Okanagan Rockets, the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the standings respectively, and showed that right now they’re a class above their rivals. They blasted the Giants 5-1 and 4-1 and then followed that up with 4-1 and 3-0 wins over Okanagan, running their winning streak to eight games.

Also, eight players from the BCMML were named to the U-16 Team BC roster that will represent the province at the upcoming 2015 Canada Winter Games: G Dorrin Sekikawa-Luding  (Cariboo Cougars), D Nolan Kneen (Okanagan Rockets), F Justin Almeida (Cariboo Cougars), F Lucas Cullen (Okanagan Rockets), F Owen Hardy (North Island Silvertips), F James Malm (Valley West Hawks), F Jordan Sandhu (Greater Vancouver Canadians), F Brett Stapley (North Island Silvertips).

BCMML standings: