The Cougars and the Volant each have two wins so far as they head back to the ice Wednesday in Gatineau for a fifth game in their series. A win either way still means at least one more return match in Vankleek Hill to decide who will move on to the next round in the National Capital Junior Hockey League playoffs (NCJHL).
Friday night in Gatineau
Last Friday night’s round of the series in Gatineau finished 5-3 for the Volant.
Samuel Lamarch put the host team on the scoreboard first four minujtes into the game with an assist from Cédric Bertrand. The Volant extended their lead to 3-0 with another first-period goal by Jérémy Marcotte and one at the second-period mid-mark from Benoît Milloy.
Cougars assistant captain Eric Skyba broke the Volant’s scoring streak with a goal for Vankleek Hill in the last five minutes of second period. Andy Lightle-Blais assisted on the goal.
Maxime Laliberté gave the Cougars their second goal of the night during the first minute of third period, with assistant captain Joshua Desjardins assisting. Skyba tied up the score with his second goal of the night at the period midpoint, with the help of Brenden Easterbrook.
Marcotte ruined the Cougars’ chances of a win with two more goals for a hat trick in the last half of the period.
Sunday night in the Den
The Cougars came out roaring Sunday night in their temporary Den at the Robert Hartley Sports Centre and chewed up the Volant 9-2.
Marcotte opened up the scoreboard first with a goal for Gatineau halfway through first period. After that the Cougars dominated the scoring with a shorthanded goal a minute later by team captain Mikael Bissonnette, with help from assistant captain Joshua Desjardins, to tie up the score, and then a tie-breaker by assistant captain Eric Skyba in the last five minutes of the period, with Desjardins and Brenden Easterbrook assisting.
Second period belonged to the Cougars with Desjardins scoring a pair of goals during the first half of the period. Bissonnette helped on Desjardins’ first goal and also on the second one with support from Skyba.
Bissonnette scored his second goal of the night on a power play during the last half of second period. Desjardins and Skyba both assisted on the goal.
Assistant captain John Mahoney scored an unassisted goal for the Cougars in the first two minutes of third period. Gatineau got its last goal of the night a minute later from Alex Beauséjour, with help from Clément Gravelle.
Wrapping up the scoring for Vankleek Hill were Thomas Kelly, assisted by Easterbrook and Mahoney; Alexandre Chenier, with help from Skyba and Bissonnette; and a power-play goal by Landen Sweet in the final three minutes, with Chenier and Jake Lalonde assisting.
Frédérick Durocher-Bourdon guarded the Vankleek Hill net in both games.
The Cougars are in Gatineau March 8 for the fifth game in their series against the Volant. The sixth game date was not listed on either team’s website schedule by press time but should be over the weekend with Vankleek Hill as the host.
