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Moore heads to PG to play for Cougars

Brendan Moore is off to play Major Midget, in pursuit of his junior dream.
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Brendan Moore will suit up for the Cariboo Cougars for the duration of the season.

Midget Storm forward Brendan Moore is finishing off his minor hockey season in Prince George with the Cariboo Cougars.

He got the call two weeks ago, when one of the Cougars’ regulars went down with an injury for the rest of the season.

It was a tough decision, to leave his friends, family and school for the duration of the season, but in the end, Moore decided he couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

“I was really excited, but I didn’t decide right away,” Moore said.

“I had to sleep on it, but I knew in the back of my mind that this chance was too good to turn down.”

Fortunately, he’s already found a billet and is fitting in well.

“It’s easy when you’re on a hockey team, because you’ve already got a bunch of friends when you get to school, you already know people.”

This isn’t Moore’s first stint with the club. Earlier in the month he was called up on a two-game tryout.

The Cougars won one and lost one, but Moore was one of the most noticeable players on the ice during both games.

“I thought he played really well,” Cougars head coach Bryan MacLean said.

“He did a good job from start to finish and he did a good job being a teammate and supporting guys on the bench when we weren’t playing well.”

“He kept playing the same way when we were losing and that showed really good character.”

Storm head coach Brendan Hutchinson said the move was expected.

“I think they were really happy with the way he played when he came up,” Hutchinson said.

“He turned some heads up there and that set him up for the opportunity.”

Moore will be expected to take on a bottom-six, penalty killing, energy type role for the Cougars during their final 12 games of the season.

“He is going to play the whole rink, with his ability to skate,” MacLean said. “He is going to play defensively and on the penalty kill and if he keeps improving and working hard in practice he will see his ice-time go up for sure.”

Moore has already noticed a difference in the level of play in Major Midget.

“It’s very intense, even in practice,” Moore said. “You have to give 100 per cent all the time.”

The Cougars are in the middle of a playoff race in the British Columbia Major Midget League.

Currently, they sit in seventh place, two points up on the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds in ninth. The top eight clubs make the playoffs.

The regular season ends in the first week of March, but playoffs could continue on until mid-April, if the Cougars keep winning.

The Cougars play their games on weekends, and will travel all over the province, as far as Vancouver Island and the Kootenays.

Fortunately, Brendan’s dad will be making trips down to visit.

“He said he’s going to come to every game, so it’s going to be good to still get a chance to see him,” Moore said.

Once the season is over, Moore will move back home and begin training, to get ready for next season.

His appearance may give him a leg up on other players come training camp in September, but he’ll still have to earn a spot.

“Every year we take the best 20 players in camp,” MacLean said. “You still have to come out and make the hockey team, but I have a lot of confidence that he will be a player for us in the future.”

Moore is the first Smithers’ player to make the jump to Major Midget and play for the Cougars in quite a few years.

“It’s good for the community to see that there are spots for players to go and play,” MacLean said.

“You have a wonderful program in Smithers and a great coach, in Brendan Hutchinson, who is doing an awesome job and we hope that Brendan will start a trend.”

During the current Midget Storm season, Moore was one of the team’s leading scorers.

One of the more difficult aspects of leaving, was not being able to finish the season with his teammates, he said.

“It came out of nowhere and I wasn’t really expecting it,” Moore said.

“But they all understood and they just wanted what’s best for me.”

Hutchinson admits its going to be tough to replace Moore.

“He’s  a big part of our team and a great player,” he said. “Fortunately, we have a lot of depth and a lot of players ready to step up and make the most of that opportunity.”

Eventually, Moore would like to go through the Junior-A or -B ranks and earn a scholarship to a university or college.

“I just want to go as far as I can with hockey.”

Hutchinson thinks staying away from the WHL might be the best route.

“I think he might be better suited to Junior-A.

“The WHL is for big, physically developed kids and Brendan might need a bit more time to develop.”

In his first two games with the Cariboo Cougars this weekend, Moore tallied two points en-route to two straight victories.