Sam Rice and Brody Coulter were joking around prior to the start of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League season, half-heartedly tossing out triple-digit point totals as personal goals to their year with the Victoria Cougars.
Tongue in cheek, the two discussed establishing those lofty heights, numbers players only really dream about.
Well, the opposition certainly isn't laughing now.
Rice is leading the VIJHL with five goals and 21 assists in nine games.
Coulter is right behind with nine tallies and 14 helpers and the third man on the line, newcomer Dane Feeney, has six goals and 14 assists - top three in the league.
"We jokingly said, 'Let's see if we can get triple digits,' " said Rice, a six-foot-two, 190-pounder who is actually on pace to do just that.
Rice is averaging 2.89 points per outing and 100 points would require 2.28 over the 42-game season. Sure, that's a stretch as the VIJHL season tends to wear one down. But there is no disputing that the line is off to a fantastic start.
The Cougars - 8-0-1 so far, still not having lost in regulation time - look to extend their success tonight at 7 at Archie Browning Sports Centre as the 3-5-1 Oceanside Generals come calling.
The visitors will be best served to clamp down on the No. 1 line in the VIJHL.
"They're fun to watch," said Cougars head coach Mark Van Helvoirt. "They have some natural chemistry, spread the offence around and they know how to include their defence in the offence. It's spread out on opponents' defence and makes it hard to defend."
As for Rice himself, Van Helvoirt says the success couldn't happen to a nicer young man.
"He's off to a pretty good start on film and the stats sheet, which is nice. He's a good kid, too, maybe overshadowed the last couple of seasons," said Van Helvoirt. "We've always known he's one of the more well-rounded players in this league and starting to get the recognition he deserves.
"He knows he has a pretty good guy [Coulter] on his line who can score goals. He knows if he can get him the puck he can make things happen. He's got that figured out."
Coulter finished third overall in league scoring last season with 68 points, behind teammate Steve Axford and Ty Jones of Saanich with 75 points each.
Rice had 14 goals and 40 assists for 54 points in a full 42 games last year, which also proves he's durable. The year previous it was 13 goals and 32 points.
"It's what I was hoping for, being a return player," Rice said of this year's torrid start. "I was hoping it would be a breakout year and maybe get some interest from schools.
"Our line has done quite well. Brody's a great player and Feeney's been a great pickup. We hit it off right from the get go."
In a game on Sept. 18 against Westshore, the trio had five points apiece, which tends to capture the attention of college and university scouts.
"I definitely want to go to a school, hopefully like a Div. III school in the [United] States," said Rice. "I think it's achievable. I think I'm playing well enough."
Well enough to get to 100 points? That remains to be seen.
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