Although the team was just formed at the beginning of the month, the Vankleek Hill Cougars are playing well together already.
The Vankleek Hill Cougars enjoyed a prosperous end to the first month back in hockey season, winning all three games on September 23, 24, and 29. Although it looked dicey during a few of those matchups, the Cougars managed to pull through and secure victory in all three games. They previously won their games on September 10 and 16, both against the Gatineau-Hull Volants.
On September 23, the Cougars went up against the Metcalfe Jets on their home turf at the Vankleek Hill Arena. Although the Jets put up a spirited fight, they were unable to overcome the Cougars’ three-goal lead, and the Cougars claimed a 4-2 victory over the Jets by the end of the night.
Their goals were scored by Luka Tomich, Noah Guerts, Jérémy Marcotte, Malcolm Seguin, Bryce Bols, and Alexandre Chenier, assisted by Garrett Cunning, Nathan Williams, Braeden Beard, Simon Gagne, Andy Lightle-Blais, and Brenden Easterbrook.
The next night on September 24, the Cougars went up against les Aigles de Saint-Isidore in an away game at the Saint-Isidore arena. The host team was no doubt looking to add another win after their previous one on September 17, but the Cougars fought back, neither team scoring a goal until les Aigles managed to slip one past the Cougars’ defence in the second period. The Cougars weren’t about to let that go however and fired back with three goals in the third period. Despite two overtime periods, les Aigles were unable to catch back up and the Cougars claimed a 3-1 victory.
The Cougars’ goals were scored by Ethan Halterman, Joshua Desjardins, Alexander Perry, and Chenier. They were assisted by Kyle Huneault, Jacob Levac, and Zachary Bigras.
The next weekend on September 29, the Metcalfe Jets called the Cougars to Fred Barrett Arena for a rematch. Although they had a score to settle, the Jets were unable to make it up, quickly losing ground to the Cougars right out of the gate. Vankleek Hill built up an early lead of two goals in the first period, and although the Jets made it up in the second, the Cougars scored another goal then and three more in the third period. The final score was a 6-2 victory for the Cougars.
The Cougars goals were scored by Desjardins, Maxime Laliberte, Gagne, Seguin, Logan Desrosiers, Chenier, and Lightle-Blais. They were assisted by Bruno Laframboise, Sullivan, Bigras, Rowan Mcpherson, Curtis Johnston, Hudson Collins, and Cunning.
The Cougars now have three straight wins for the start of their regular season schedule in the National Capital Junior Hockey League. The team has played six games in all, including three pre-season exhibition matches that finished with two wins and one loss for Vankleek Hill.
