The Cariboo Cougars have clinched second place with a 7-2 win over the South Island Royals, sweeping the season series.

The win also marks the Cats eighth straight extending the team's unbeaten streak to 12 games.

Once again it was the Cougars who got on the board early with Donovan Law's second goal in as many games from Tre Potskin just 3:34 into the first.  Penalty troubles then plagued the Royals again as Logan Styler scored the first of two Sunday on the power play three minutes later from Braiden Epp and Liam Blackburn.  51 seconds later Epp added another on the power play from Blackburn and Nick Headrick as Cats scored on all of their first three shots on Royals goaltender Markus Daly.

The second period, however, belonged to the Royals who scored twice within less than four minutes to make it a one-goal game after 40 minutes in a frame which saw the visitors ramp up the chippy play once again including a blatant slash on Blackburn well behind the play which went undetected.

The Cougars rebounded in the third with two goals just over a minute apart from Eli Jarvis and Styler to go back up by three 3:16 into the final frame. Tyler Povelofskie scored on the power play at the 12:07 mark for his third goal of the weekend while Epp scored his second of the game with just over two minutes on the clock as the Cougars have recorded at least seven goals in each of their four games against the Royals this season.

Jeremy Matte earned his 10th win of the season as the Cats outshot the Royals 38-26.

The Cougars record now stands at 30-7-1, the first time the team has ever hit the 30 win mark.  It also ensures the Cougars will face the Royals in the first round of the playoffs starting Friday March 8th in Prince George.

Braiden Epp had a pair of goals and two assists Sunday while Blackburn and Styler both had three points each as Blackburn now has 80 points on the season.

The Cougars head on the road next weekend to face the Vancouver NE Chiefs Saturday and Sunday in Coquitlam for the final regular season games of the year.

The Cariboo Cougars clobbered the visiting South Island Royals 8-1 Saturday for their seventh straight win and a team record 29th victory of the season.

It was a record breaking game in many respects as centre Liam Blackburn scored his 30th and 31st goals of the season setting a new team record.  Nathan Warren made 22 saves for his 20th win of the season, tying him with Jared Rathjen for the most in a single season as a Cariboo Cougar.

The Cats dominated early outshooting the Royals 20-3 in the first period with Donovan Law's sixth of the season just four and a half minutes in.  Brad Morrison got his 18th midway through the frame from Kirk Hards and Nick Headrick.  Braiden Epp then added a power play goal with four minutes left in the period from Blackburn and Logan Styler as the Cougars took a 3-0 lead into the second.

Just three minutes into the middle frame, Blackburn got his record breaking goal putting a Headrick rebound past South Island goaltender Jesse Jenks.  Blackburn got his second of the game just over two minutes later on the power play from Styler for the 5-0 lead after 40 minutes.

Tyler Povelofskie got his 16th of the season at the 6:20 mark of the third from Eli Jarvis and Ryan Forbes to take a 6-0 lead.  South Island then broke Warren's 8 period Royals shutout streak as affiliate Andrew Jack got the visitors on the board midway through the frame.  The Royals got themselves into penalty troubles late in the third as the Cats scored two late power play goals from Styler and Povelofskie for the 8-1 win.

Things got chippy at the end as the Royals hit everything in sight attempting to goad the Cougars into rough play but the Cats held their composure.

Both Blackburn and Styler had a three point game while Hards, Morrison, Headrick, and Povelofskie all had a pair of points.

The Cougars go for the weekend sweep of the Royals Sunday morning at 8:45 at CN Centre.  A win would also clinch second place for the Cats.

The Cariboo Cougars are back in BC Major Midget League action this weekend hosting the South Island Royals Saturday and Sunday in the final regular season home games of the year in a potential playoff preview.

The Cougars currently sit in second place with a 28-7-1 record while the seventh place Royals are unlikely to move down in the standings which would pit the two against each other for a quarterfinal playoff matchup.

The Cats are coming off their final bye weekend working on a six-game win streak, unbeaten in their last ten.  The Cats have dominated offensively during their winning streak outscoring their opposition 44-16 in the six game span.  Several Cougars have been blowing up the scoresheet of late, most notably forward Logan Styler who has 15 points in his last four games.  Linemate Liam Blackburn has three hat tricks in his last five games and is one goal away from setting a new team record for goals in a single season.

The Royals meanwhile have not enjoyed much success of late going 2-6-2 in their last ten games and have yet to score a single goal against the Cougars who earned a pair of 7-0 wins in Victoria back in November.

The Cats can clinch second place in the standings with a win Saturday combined with a Rockets loss to the Giants.

Saturday's game starts at 1:00pm with Sunday's final regular season matchup between the Royals and Cougars set for 8:45am.  Both games will be played at CN Centre and can be viewed live at cariboocougars.ca.

Cariboo Cougar defenceman Stephen Penner has committed to the BCHL's Nanaimo Clippers for the 2013-2014 season.

The 6'5" 195 pound blueliner has had a very solid year for the Cats.  As one of the team's two 17-year old defencemen he has logged heavy minutes while also adding six goals and 19 assists to sit third in BCMML scoring among defencemen.

"I'm really excited to join the Clippers organization," said Penner.

"I've heard nothing but great things about the team and staff.  They run a great program and I'm really looking forward to starting my Junior A career as a Clipper.  It will be a fun and exciting step for me."

The Prince George native spent a good portion of last season playing with the Cougars as an affiliate from the Midget Tier 1 provincial champion team and has been a key part of the Cats leadership group this season as an assistant captain.

"We are extremely excited to add Stephen to our roster for next season," said Clippers Head Coach and General Manager Mike Vandekamp.

"He is a big defenceman who plays physically and defends well, but at the same time has tremendous offensive upside.  We believe Stephen will make an immediate on ice impact while adding solid character to our hockey club.  He currently plays for a great program in Prince George and we are confident that he will be a contributor from the drop of the puck next season.  We would like to welcome Stephen and his Family to the Clipper Family."

Penner will join teammate Ryan Forbes with the Clippers next season as the captain is also committed to playing for Nanaimo.

Congratulations Stephen!