MacFarlane and Jain Each Score Twice in U18 Canadians’ Weekend Series in Prince George

The U18 AAA Greater Vancouver Canadians dropped back-to-back games to the Cariboo Cougars in Prince George over the weekend (Feb. 2-3), but Jack MacFarlane and Yashas Jain, in particular, were among the bright spots for the club as each had a pair of goals to pace the GVC offense. 

For the weekend, MacFarlane had two goals and two assists. 

The series opened on Friday at the Kopar Memorial Arena, with the Canadians jumping out to a 4-1 lead after two periods, only to see the Cougars storm back with six unanswered goals in the third to pull out a 7-4 victory. MacFarlane opened the scoring 1:46 into the game with a power-play marker, before A.J. Abell made it 2-0 at the 3:29 mark. After the Cougars cut the deficit to 2-1, Jain and MacFarlane both scored in the second for a 4-1 advantage. The Cougars, though, tied the game at 4-4 in the third and then notched the game-winner on the power play with only 6:20 remaining. Cariboo then added two late goals to complete the comeback. In the loss, Jack Taylor faced 54 shots, 18 in each period, but his heroics weren’t enough as the Canadians managed only 23 shots on goal.

The scene shifted to the CN Centre on Saturday, where the Cougars jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Jain scored his second of the weekend with 4:12 remaining in the game to break the shutout. Cariboo added one more goal to close out the 6-1 victory and complete the weekend sweep. In the loss, Marcus Taylor faced 53 shots, including 22 in the third period, as the Canadians were outshot 53-17 for the contest. 

The Canadians, currently tied for seventh place with the Thompson Blazers, fell to 6-21-2-1. 

Next up, the Canadians take on the Blazers on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 6:15 p.m. and then face the Vancouver NE Chiefs on Sunday, Feb. 11, at 4:15 p.m., as part of the U18 division’s showcase weekend at the Sardis Sports Complex in Chilliwack, B.C. The Canadians then return home on Wednesday, Feb. 14, to take on the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds at the Richmond Oval at 7:30 p.m. All three games can be seen on playfullscreen.com.