The Vancouver North East Chiefs major midget hockey team got behind early and paid for it with a pair of losses in the teams’ season opening homestand at Planet Ice last weekend.

The Chiefs were out-scored 19-8 in their two games against the perennial powerhouse Vancouver North West Giants, losing 9-6 on Saturday and 10-2 on Sunday.

Chiefs coach Don Menard said his team has a long way to come if it’s going to compete with the likes of the Giants, who are 6-0 this season, and went 36-2-2 last season.

“The Giants set the standard in this league,” he said. “So it’s all well and good to say you’re a good team, but you got to be able to prove it.

“Now we now where the bar is set.”

While it’s hard to take positives out of the pair of losses, Menard said he hopes at the very least they help his team build character and gain some humility. The team faced a similar situation last season, and were able to bounce back, finishing the season with a winning record of 19-17-4.

Having a bye week so early in the season probably didn’t help matters either.

“I knew the week off was going to hurt us, but there was no excuse in the second game,” he said.

The Chiefs found themselves down 3-0 after the first period against the Giants on Saturday. They clawed their way back to within one goal in the second period, but the Giants pulled away in the third.

It was a similar start on Sunday, with the Chiefs finding themselves down 4-0 in the first period, but again they were unable to make up the deficit.

The Chiefs had five power play goals scored on them as a result of undisciplined play in the 10-2 loss on Sunday, something Menard says will become a priority in practice this week.

“The first step is not being in the box,” he said. “When you are not in position defensively, you’re going to end up taking a penalty to prevent your guy from getting by you.”

The Vancouver North East Chiefs will be on the road next weekend as they travel to Abbotsford to take on the Fraser Valley Bruins.