Cougars lose hard-fought battle at home

After edging out a win in their home opener of the 2011-2012 National Capital Junior Hockey League (NCJHL) season, the Vankleek Hill Cougars took to the ice on Saturday, October 15 with high hopes of celebrating another in front of the hometown crowd.

The visiting Gatineau Express struck first blood about eight minutes into the opening frame, however, and went on to defeat the Cougars 6-4 in a hard-fought battle.

Trailing 1-0 in the early stages of the game, the Cougars refused to quit and quickly tied the game at 6:11 of the first period. Assistant captain Pier-Olivier Poulin notched the goal with assists going to captain Yannick Boudrias and Nicolas Pharand.

"We have a team motto this year which is 'believe,'" said head coach Marc Berniqué. "You can not win with talent alone. We need to compete and work hard for the full 60 minutes and the most important thing is for the players to believe that they can succeed."

The Cougars came out fierce in the second period, taking a 2-1 lead less than 30 seconds after the puck drop. Boudrias scored his fifth goal of the season in only his fourth game, drawing assists from Poulin and Damien Charette. Yet just over a minute later, Gatineau would strike back and make it 2-2.

The Cougars took back the lead at 11:47 of the middle frame when Andrew Charlebois was able to find the back of the net. Karl Walcott and Julien Martel added assists on the goal. Much like the first period, however, the second would also see both teams head to the dressing rooms tied on the scoreboard after Gatineau scored a late second-period goal to even the score 3-3.

"I thought the guys followed the game plan," said Berniqué. "I feel like we dominated and out-played them, although we did get into some penalty troubles in the second period."

The third period saw the see-saw battle continue, until Poulin notched his second goal of the game with assists going to Pharand and Boudrias. But Gatineau would answer back by tying the game 4-4 with 12:45 remaining - and the visitors would take a definitive lead shortly thereafter with another goal.

"We definitely need to work on our defensive zone coverage," acknowledged Berniqué.

With tempers flaring and goalkeeper Maxime Bedard on the bench for an extra attacker, the Cougars were unable to equalize and would eventually surrender an empty-net goal, giving Gatineau a 6-4 victory. It was Vankleek Hill's first home loss of the season.

According to Berniqué, the Cougars "still have areas to work on," but insisted the struggle is simply part of a process to get the players to buy into the new system and change the culture within the team.

"We did not get the bounces we needed to score at the end, but I thought we played well despite missing six regular players," he stated. "However the players were reminded that this was not to be used as an excuse and they responded.

"The keys to our success this season is to be disciplined, play as a team, and follow the game plan set out by the coaches. We all have to play a full 60 minutes."

The Cougars do not have a scheduled home game this coming weekend but will take to the ice in Cumberland on Saturday and St-Isidore on Sunday. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. for both games.