Cougars down Stayner in shootout thriller

January 7, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Jeff Doner
The Schomberg Cougars only had one game on the docket last week, but came out with a thrilling shootout victory against the Stayner Siskins – a team they’ve had trouble with this season.
“That was huge,” said forward Mitch Safaric. “We deserved it in my opinion. We played our hearts out that game and every single player on our team worked hard.”
The first period saw little action early on, but as the clock wore down, the goals started coming for both teams.
Ryley Egerton scored the first goal of the game, netting a power play marker at 17:30, assisted by Nicholas Chaykowsky and John Gage.
Minutes later Stayner got their own chances on the power play and scored two goals in the last minute to take a 2-1 lead.
“We’ve been trying desperately to stay out of the penalty box. The coaches weren’t very happy between the first and second, but the last two periods we stayed out of the box,” Safaric said.
And the Cougars answered the bell in the second. Egerton scored his second goal of the game on the power play to tie things up. Chaykowsky and Christian Muenz earned the assists.
Schomberg and Stayner traded goals in the third (Muenz scored for the Cougars), which tied things up for overtime and eventually the shootout.
Early on it looked like Stayner gained the upper hand in the shootout when their second shooter scored and the first two Cougars shooters missed, but Ewart stood tall and Muenz and John Gage scored to keep things going.
It took eight shooters, but Safaric eventually potted the winning goal for the Cougars.
“I was watching him (the Stayner goalie) from all the shooters before and a lot of them went backhand and I noticed his stick side was always open,” Safaric explained. “Having been a Patrick Kane fan, I always see him go in fast and then slow down, so I tried that out and faked backhand and he bit on it and I went forehand and had the whole side to put it in.”
The Cougars now find themselves tied with the Alliston Hornets in the standings with 49 points – seven points behind the first place Penetang Kings.
“That win showed that when we stay out of the box we can beat any team,” Safaric said. “We’ve had trouble with Stayner all year and we just beat them. To come together as team and beat them – now we’re seven or eight points ahead of the fourth place team, this win gives us some breathing room.”
Egerton’s two goals were critical for the Cougars and he said trying to stay out of the box in the final two periods was key for his team.
“The coach in the dressing room said we had to come out smart and don’t take any dumb penalties, and we took a couple, but we came out there hard and had to beat them,” he said. “Every time we play them we don’t play well, so we came out tonight and got the ‘W.’”
This week the Cougars host Huntsville on Thursday night at the Trisan Centre at 8:30 p.m. and then on the road against Penetang on Friday. They will have to play a similar style to win both.
“Huntsville is down in the bottom of the standings, so we’ve got to watch what they’re going to do on you because last time we played them we almost lost,” Egerton said. ‘We came out with a 6-4 win, but they we’re coming back and we took dumb penalties, so it comes back to staying out of the box.”
In terms of Penetang, that’s a big game for the Cougars and one they are confident they can win.
“At the beginning of the year, we thought we could have a great team and now we do have a great team and it’s all about proving it,” Egerton added. “Now we’re in second place, not right behind Penetang, but their goalie is hurt, so maybe we can catch them with maybe the last little bit we’ve got here.”