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Cougars return to Smithers

Smaha-Muir and Moore finish off season in Prince George, gear up for next year
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Brendan Moore recently returned to town after finishing his midget season with the Cariboo Cougars.

Two of Smithers’ best midget hockey players, Lauren Smaha-Muir and Brendan Moore, returned from Prince George last month, after spending successful seasons with the Cariboo Cougars.

Smaha-Muir played the whole year for the Cougars, tallying four points in 29 games (1-3-4), while alternating between forward and defence.

“I loved it, it was an awesome year,” Smaha-Muir said.

“Just being with the team and getting to meet a whole bunch of new people was a great experience.”

The female Cougars finished second overall in the Major Midget Female AAA league – a huge improvement from their usual place at the bottom of the standings – though they were ousted in the semifinals by the Nelson Wildcats.

“We took a team from last place all the way to second in the standings, so I think we did really well this year,” she said.

Smaha-Muir will finish the rest of the school year at Smithers Secondary, before deciding whether or not to return to the Cougars next season.

“Hopefully I’ll be back for another year, I would like to see how far I can go.”

Moore began the season with the Smithers Storm in tier two, but joined the Cougars in January as an injury replacement for forward on a two-game tryout.

He immediately impressed head coach Bryan MacLean, who moved Moore to the top of the long-term call-up list.

When injuries hit again, Moore was signed for the rest of the year.

He began on the bottom line, but as the season progressed Moore took on a bigger role, though he remained a defence-first, checker.

He finished the year with three points in 14 games (1-2-3) and added a goal in the team’s two playoff games.

Going from tier two midget to major midget is a big jump for a player, especially in the middle of the season, but Moore was happy with the way he adjusted to the bigger, faster league.

“I thought my game got better as the season went on. It’s just a matter of getting used to the speed of the game. You only have a split second to make decisions.”

The Cougars clawed their way into the playoffs, in sixth spot, but lost in the first round to the West Valley Hawks.

“We were underdogs, we were kind of expected to lose, but I thought we played well.”

This summer Moore has set up tryouts with Junior-A teams the Cowichan Capitals, the Prince George Spruce Kings and the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks.

“I think I’m more suited to Junior-A than the WHL at this point, but I’ll most likely end up going back to Prince George to play for the Cougars.”

Both Smaha-Muir and Moore remained close during their time in Prince George, practicing at the same time and attending the same school.

“We kept in touch, we would see each other all the time because our teams had the same practice times. It was definitely nice to see someone from back home,” Moore said.