Cougars earn three of four points in crucial week

November 12, 2013 · 0 Comments

By Jeff Doner
The Schomberg Cougars came away from an important week with three out of four points after a win over Huntsville and an overtime loss to the Alliston Hornets.
With 29 points, the Cougars remain tied with the Hornets for second place in the Georgian Mid-Ontario Jr. C standings.
All in all, it was another good week for the Cougars, who are looking to keep pace with the top teams.
“We’re just going out there to play a big game,” said pesky forward Ryley Egerton. “We’re listening to the coaches in the room and he’s pushing us to win. This is the best start for the Cougars in 10 years, so it feels really good.”
The high-scoring Cougars opened the week with a home game against the Huntsville Otters on Thursday night.
Despite a sluggish start, the Cougars managed to capture a 2-0 lead on goals by John Gage and Mike Barosso before the 10-minute mark.
But with less than a minute remaining in the second period, Huntsville notched a power play goal to cut the Cougars’ lead in half.
As the game wore on the Cougars moved the puck well and seemed to gain confidence.
Early in the second, Egerton thought for a moment that he had Otters goalie TJ Sherwood beat, but he rang one off the post.
With Huntsville reeling in their own end, stalwart defenceman Nicholas Chaykowsky picked up a loose puck at the blue line firing it top shelf to put his team up 3-1.
Chaykowsky had another strong game for the Cougars also logging an assist and using his size to clear the front of the net and gain possession of the puck.
Looking to establish a two-goal lead, Cougar Mike Barosso was dragged down on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot, but Sherwood stood tall in net and turned away Barosso.
Sherwood was rewarded by his team as they scored another late goal in to end the second period with a 3-2 advantage.
It was all Schomberg in the third period as the defence and forwards did their job in taking away space and controlling the play.
Four minutes in, Mitch Safaric walked in on Sherwood and made it 4-2 on the power play for his fifth of the season.
Egerton, who had been buzzing around the net the whole game, finally got on the score sheet at 10:40.
“That’s my spot … right on the back door,” Egerton said of his goal. “I was kind of sitting there all game and it finally came to me, so I picked it up and popped it in.”
Cailean Thornton-Wilson added another for a 6-2 final and goalie Taylor Ewart made 21 saves for the win.
“We started off sloppy at the beginning there and it made us feel like these guys are here to play, so we woke up in the second and into the third we fought back to win,” Egerton added. “Right now we’re all buying in, listening to the coaching staff and everyone is playing the role that they should be, so it’s very good to see that and we’re winning games because of it.”

Cougars swallow tough overtime loss to Hornets

On Friday night the Cougars travelled to Alliston for what many saw as a big test for the improved squad.
This time the Cougars were out of the gate hot, with Declan Lampe and Safaric scoring the only two goals in the first period to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead.
But as with most good teams, the Hornets were not to be counted out.
Dakota Brooks got the Hornets on the board just a minute into the frame. The teams would continue to trade chances until Jamie Bennett knotted things up with four minutes left in the second.
Egerton got the lead back with a goal assisted by Lampe and JP Crescenzi to end the second period.
The third was even on the score sheet, with both teams registering seven shots and each receiving two penalties. But it was on the power play six minutes in that Bennett scored his second of the game to again tie the score and set the stage for sudden death overtime.
It didn’t take long for the Hornets to strike, as Nic Archibald buried the puck past Ewart less than a minute into the extra period to hand the Cougars a 4-3 loss.
Just the night before, Chaykowsky spoke to the importance of the Alliston game.
“I think we’re ready and playing well, but the main focus is tomorrow against Alliston,” he said. “It’s almost like playoff hockey – that’s how important it is.”
They didn’t come out with the win, but they gained a valuable point and have plenty to build on with just over half the season still to be played.
The Cougars will face another big test on Thursday night when they welcome the first-place Penetang Kings to the Trisan Centre at 8:30 p.m.
For more information, visit http://jrccougars.pointstreaksites.com.