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Will Cats face Flames or Icebreakers?

Port Moody Black Panthers secured home-ice advantage Saturday for the first round of the Pacific International Jr. 'B' hockey league playoffs.

Port Moody Black Panthers secured home-ice advantage Saturday for the first round of the Pacific International Jr. 'B' hockey league playoffs.

What has the Cats feeling a tad insecure, granted, is the prospect of having to face the Mission Icebreakers first off.

One day after out-gunning the Ridge Meadows Flames 9-6 at PoMo Rec Complex, the Cats were stung 5-1 Sunday by the Icebreakers in Mission.

The 21-17-6 Cats have sealed second spot in the five-team Harold Brittain Conference and will likely face either the Flames or Icebreakers in a best-of-seven series, slated to face-off next Monday in PoMo. Only three points separate the two squads heading into this week, with Ridge wrapping up regular-season play Friday at home versus the Cats while Mission has two games remaining, both against the first-place Abbotsford Pilots.

While the Cats boast a 5-2 record during the season versus the Icebreakers, PoMo has managed only 17 goals in those seven games -- largely due to the stellar play of the Icebreakers' goalie tandem of Michael James Barr and Lukas Simpson.

"This Mission team has a really strong work ethic," said Black Panthers general manager Ron Luniw, despite the Icebreakers' 17-22-5 mark. "They just keep coming and coming at you. We've struggled playing them... we just don't play well against them."

Conversely, the Cats are 3-2 against the Flames heading into Friday's affair but have scored 25 goals in those five meetings. The last-place Aldergrove Kodiaks are not yet out of the post-season mix, neither, and wrap up their regular-season Saturday against the Cats in PoMo, 7:45 p.m.

Against Ridge, the Cats' kid line of Jackson Hewitt, Tyler Basham and Josh Viegas accounted for six goals and 13 points as PoMo overcame a 4-3 deficit by out-scoring the Flames 6-2 in the third period.

Hewitt finished with three goals and three assists, while Basham had a five-point outing, including a goal. Viegas struck net twice for the Cats, whose other tallies came via Jamie Lively and Maximillian Fiedler, who netted a pair.

The Cats' offence all but dried up Sunday against Mission, with Brandon Millin being PoMo's lone marksmen after the Icebreakers built an early 3-0 lead.

"It's called consistency... playing for 60 minutes," Luniw said. "It doesn't matter who you face in this league, they're all going to be tough."