Cariboo Cougars to host first BCMML outdoor game

The first ever Major Midget League outdoor game will be held in Fort St. James.

The Cariboo Cougars will host the Vancouver NE Chiefs January 20th, 2019, in the Northern Winter Classic Outdoor Game on the Nak’azdli Whut’en Territory. This is part of a two-game series between the teams and will be played at the Ernie Sam Memorial Arena, which has been outfitted with professional boards and regulation glass. The first game of the series will also be in Fort St. James at the Fort Forum Arena on January 19th.

“Our staff and our players are really excited to have this game, it’s going to be really cool and hopefully it’s something that we can do for the next ten years,” explained Cougars General Manager Trevor Sprague, who had wanted to do an outdoor game for some time.

“We’ve got something here that can build hockey in Fort St. James but also with Nak’azdli as well since those two communities are really close.”

Last season, the Cougars and Chiefs met for two games in Fort St. James when Sprague found the outdoor rink and made the inquiry.

“I started working with the Nak’azdli band and Chief Alex McKinnon and talked to them about what their thoughts were. They were on board to make this happen.”

BC Hockey, in conjunction with the BC MML, will host several development camps on the Friday (Jan 18) and Saturday (Jan 19) before the game. The Cougars’ coaching staff and a few players will work with the Fort St. James Minor Hockey Asociation, Burns Lake MHA, and three local Indigenous bands.

“The biggest thing for our organization is about giving back to the youth within the north and this is a good thing,” Sprague said.

“Hockey is dwindling a little bit out in those smaller areas and we want to inject a little bit of life back into it and hopefully have the kids want to play hockey.”