Cougars oust Golden Hawks, begin second round against Terriers

By Robert Belardi

The Schomberg Cougars eliminated the Caledon Golden Hawks with a 4-1 win in Mayfield Arena last Friday.
The Cougars are now getting set to take on the Orillia Terriers this week in the second round of the PJHL playoffs.
Having never lost to the Golden Hawks over the course of the regular season, the Cougars did not drop two games at the Trisan Centre against their cross-town foes.
In game five in Schomberg, in front a lively crowd in the stands, the Cougars ran into a red-hot Mason Kameka in goal once again.
After pouring on 14 shots in the first period alone, it was the Golden Hawks who found themselves with the lead. Luke Camara scored his first of the series to get the boys going.
In the second period, the Cougars continued to fire pucks on goal and were rewarded on the power play. Christian Taylor spotted Luke Miehm at the edge of the blue ice and the former Golden Hawk tapped it home to tie it up.
In the third period, the Cougars continued to pour on shots and captain Cameron Kokelj gave the Cougars the lead.
But the Golden Hawks scored two unanswered goals in a span of three minutes thanks to Matt Vavaroutsos and Justin Callisto finished it off with an empty-net goal in the end. The Hawks won 4-2.
In game six, it was a vastly different story and the Cougars had to do it without Christian Taylor and Luke Miehm. Taylor slammed into the boards hard in game five and was helped off the ice. Head coach Stan Kondrotas confirmed on Monday, he is going to try and skate in practice this week. There is no timetable for his return. Miehm was out due to suspension.
On the bright side, the Cougars saw the return of Stuart Barber to the ice. Barber is an engineering student in university and makes himself available whenever possible.
Barber recorded an assist, as the Cougars trumped the Golden Hawks 4-1 to win their first playoff series since 2015.
Having tied the Orillia Terriers in the season series 2-2 head coach Stan Kondrotas said, that the Terriers play just like the Cougars.
“They have some pretty good snipers to begin with. They play a lot like us, they work hard, they got talent up front and their goalie up until lately has been stellar,” Kondrotas said.
“We know we're in for a battle.”
The Cougars will start Matteo Tarantino to begin the series. Tarantino has yet to lose a game in the playoffs this year.
Game one took place in Orillia this past Tuesday. Game two will take tonight at the Trisan Centre. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.
The Cougars will head on the road Saturday night and will play game four on Sunday at home. Puck drop for that game is at 2:30 p.m.