Last Friday (Nov. 2), the 樱桃视频Cougars welcomed the Vancouver Whalers into their home and almost allowed the guests to skate home with the victory.
The Cats had a slow start in the first period but blew the game open in the second with six goals.Coach Matt Samson said he's still looking for that 60-minute effort from the Cats.
"We got the guys on track in the intermission, had a little talk, we worked hard, took the play to them and we were able to capitalize." The Cougars carried most of the play in the first period but lacked finish around the Whalers net. Sinclair Kim opened the scoring at the nine-minute mark as he picked up a short pass along the boards from Andy McKinney.
He weaved past one Whaler d-man and slipped the puck through the legs of Whaler keeper, Raphi Straub. The Whalers gained a 2-1 lead in the final 60 seconds on goals by Josh Serby and Steven Shaffroth.Whatever Cougars coach Matt Samson said to his team during the intermission seemed to work. . The onslaught began two minutes into the period when Chase Haubursin trapped a loose puck behind the Whaler net. He backhanded a pass to a waiting Nick Johnston who beat Straub along the ice to tie the game. Two minutes later while shorthanded, Haubursin blocked a shot at his own blueline.
Johnston corralled the puck and sent a pass to a charging Haubursin who found himself on a two on one. Haubursin waited for the Whaler d-man to commit himself and before sending a pass to Hanfstingl who slid the puck into an open net.The Cats continued their barrage at seven minutes with a goal.
Then McKinney, the young Englishman, checked a Whaler in the corner causing a bad pass to the Whaler blue line. The Cougars increased their lead to 5-2 when Troy McLean got control of the puck during a scramble in front of the Whaler netminder, eventually ending up on Alex Wilkes' stick and into the net.The line of Stewart, Kim and McKinney continued to be a whale-sized headache for Vancouver. The Whalers finally halted the pounding with a goal of their own at the 15-minute mark.
In a reversal of the Cougars' usual second period snooze, the final minute saw Kyle Ritchie keep the puck in the Whaler zone off a faceoff, and Ross Pattison got it into the far side of the net to give the Cougars a 7-3 score. The Cats increased their lead 50 seconds into the third when McKinney stole the puck and sent Kim in alone on the Whaler stopper for a hat trick.The Cougars then decided they had conquered their prey and went into a feline snooze. By the time they awoke, the Whalers had cut that five-goal lead to two.
The Cougars would hold on for an 8-6 victory, their sixth in a row, and send the over 400 faithful fans home happy. Whalers coach, Garry Unger noted his team has a tendency to get down after having a couple of goals scored on them.
"I give the guys credit for not packing it in," he said after the game.Samson praised some individual efforts including Kim's hat trick.
"He scored two beautiful goals, he could be a guy getting a point a game and right now he's not. "A little more discipline with his off-ice training would help, tonight he showed he's got the skill."
As for his English rookie, Andy McKinney, who walked into camp as an unknown Samson said: "We didn't know what to expect from him being from England.
"He really brings energy to the team. Even if he's not getting a lot of shifts, he's still very positive on the bench."
The Cougars host the Barrhead River Kings on Friday night (Nov. 9) at Brennan Park during a special "Alberta night" promo. The Cougars will give away oil, gas and beef during the game. And those wearing cowboy hats will get two dollars off a game ticket.
