Image Credit: Cariboo Cougars

By Victor Kaisar

Hockey North

Cariboo Cougars force deciding game three in BCEHL championship series; Northern Capitals finish as provincial runner-up

Mar 23, 2025 | 8:22 AM

PRINCE GEORGE — The U18 AAA Cariboo Cougars have forced a winner-take-all game three in the British Columbia Elite Hockey League (BCEHL) championship series.

The Cougars beat the Okanagan Rockets 4-2 Saturday (March 22) night to hand the Kelowna team their first loss of the playoffs.

Jaxon Larmand, Nicholas Gordon, Riley Lettington, and an empty netter from Rylan Bissett powered the U18 Cougars to their fifth win of playoffs. Lettington’s game-winner came at 8:23 of the third period at Kin 1.

Dion Schraeder and Brayden Westman scored for Okanagan, as those goals made it a 1-1 and a 3-2 game respectively.

Cougars goaltender Andrik Lygas made 27 saves, while Finn McKiernan stopped 30 of 33 for Okanagan.

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Game three of the series at the Kin Centre will take place at 10:45 a.m. Sunday morning.

Elsewhere, the Northern Capitals fell 4-3 in overtime to the Greater Vancouver Comets in game two of the U18 AAA female championship in Coquitlam.

Carolyn Koo scored the overtime winner – her second goal of the game – to help the Comets clinch the provincial title with a two-game sweep over the Capitals. Finley Elliott and Kirsten Lai also scored for Vancouver Saturday.

Staysha Hiebert scored the game-tying power play goal for the Cougars with less than two minutes to play to force overtime. Maddy Niesh scored the other two goals for the Capitals.

Payton Planetta made 28 saves for the Caps, while Alexandra Johnston stopped 18 shots in the Comets nets.