Prince George BC- The Cariboo Cougars are the Mac’s AAA Midget Tournament Champions for 2014. The Cats defeated the Regina Pat Canadians 2-1 in a double overtime thriller at the ScotiaBank Saddledome in Calgary, on the strength of a 40 save performance by the tournament’s top goaltender, Griffen Outhouse, and a game wining goal from Chase Dubois just seconds into the second OT frame.

The Cougars opened the scoring early in the first, as Wesley Shipton stole the puck deep in Regina territory. Shipton buried the puck, bar down on the short side to give the Cariboo Cougars an early 1-0 lead.

That lead was short-lived, though, as the Canadians broke in on an odd man rush, which was finished off by some pretty passing and a nice shot by Regina’s Owen Sillinger, to tie the game at 1. That was all the scoring we’d see in regulation, as both goaltenders stood tall, keeping both teams off the board.

After a furious 10 minute overtime frame, that saw the Cats kill off a 2 minute tripping minor to Darren Hards, the Cariboo Cougars used the full intermission to rest and regroup.

The break seemed to energize the Northern BC boys, as early in the second overtime period, Chase Dubois fired a shot from a tough angle past  a surprised Curtis Megar, and into the Regina goal for the game winner.

This is the Cougars first-ever victory at the illustrious tournament, which has a history dating back nearly 40 years. Their previous best finish was an OT loss in the quarterfinals.

As mentioned, Outhouse was named the event’s Top Goalie, while Conor MacEachern was named Top Defenceman for the tournament. Both players were also named First Team All-Stars for the event.