Cougars continue to pounce wins
By: Michael Willoughby
The Burlington Cougars extend their winning streak to four games by sweeping all three opponents this week.
Their conquest began on Tuesday on home ice inside Central Arena against the Lindsay Muskies. Zaiden Hraiche got things started for the Cougars at the 9:37 mark of the first period. Lindsay tied the game with 6:12 left in the opening frame, but Hayden Bondy put the Cougars up before the buzzer with his first of the season.
Hraiche’s second goal of the game, came on the power play 4:53 into the second period, putting the home team ahead 3-1. Lindsay responded with a goal to cut the Cougars’ lead. Then, George Matsos scored his first career OJHL goal, and Mickael Tissier added his second moments later, giving the Cougars a 5-2 advantage with less than five minutes remaining in the period. However, the visitors mounted a comeback, scoring three unanswered goals in the final 3:35 to tie the game at five heading to the locker room.
The entire third period belonged to the Cougars, with Max Morin scoring 69 seconds in on the power play to give Burlington a lasting lead. Tissier’s second goal of the game and Sean Short’s fourth of the season extended the gap, ultimately leading the Cougars to a 8-5 victory over the Mustangs. Netminder Paddy Landry earned his first career OJHL win, making 30 saves. The Cougars went 2-for-4 with the man advantage.
On Friday, the Cougars went to Milton Memorial Arena to play against their familiar postseason rival, the Milton Menace.
Forward Ty Daniels playing in his second game with the Cougars quickly made a strong impact, scoring an insurance goal in the first period on the power play with just 23 seconds left. He added his second goal 47 seconds into the second period, again on the power play, sealing the victory as the Cougars defeated Milton 5-1. Ben Lamb also netted his first OJHL goal late in the first period, with Nick Kasich and Joseph Febrillet contributing as other goal scorers for Burlington.
Carter Vicente backstopped the Cougars in the win, stopping 30 of 31 shots on goal.
Landry got his second start in three games between the pipes for the Cougars as they faced the St. Michaels Buzzers at the historic St. Michaels College Arena in Toronto.
- The visiting Cougars’ offence swarmed the Buzzers defence from the first period on as goals from Calder Anderson, Daniels, and Max Morin put the visitors up 3-0 after twenty minutes. St. Michaels responded at the 9:14 mark, but the Cougars continued to sting the opposition with a heavy barrage of goals, starting with Kael Cooper at the midway mark of the middle frame, followed by goals from Anderson’s second of the game and Short with 35 seconds remaining to put the game well in hand for the Cougars.
A pair of goals from Colin Ronalds and a goal from Ethan Fredericks in a span of 3:38 in the third period capped off another solid win on the road, winning 9-1. Another positive on the road win was the Cougars’ penalty kill, which went 5-for-5 in the game.
The Cougars’ upcoming schedule features a home-and-home series against the reigning Buckland Cup Champions, the Toronto Patriots this weekend. The first game will be at Central Arena on Friday followed by a matchup at Westwood Arena on Saturday.
