It wasn't what the Farr Fabricating Cougars envisioned when they got to the rink Friday to begin the Crossroads Cup Tier 1 bantam hockey tournament.
The Cougars did score first, three minutes into their opening game against the Calgary Northwest Flames at Kin 2. But it was all downhill for the Cats from that point on. They gave up three goals in a two-minute span late in the first period and went on to lose 10-4 to the Flames.
Owen Dean was the big gun for the Flames with four goals and an assist. Jayden Davis and Joel Freer each collected two goals and Tyler Wallace and Graham Boone also scored. Brayden Morrison, son of former NHL winger Brendan, picked up five assists.
Kellan Breinen led the Cougars' offence with two goals, both in the first period, while Cam Needham and Alex Ochitwa fired singles. The Cougars trailed 4-2 after one period and 6-3 after two.
Cougars starting goalie Dawson Frankforth was replaced by Orry Currie after Dean scored his hat-trick goal to make it a 7-3 game, 2:05 into the third period.
Connor Ungar played the whole game in goal for Calgary. The shot count was not available.
The Cougars went on to play Hollyburn of North Vancouver in the late game Friday. The Flames opened with a 2-2 tie with Langley.
"It was probably a little nerve-wracking for the kids, their execution was definitely a little off," said Cougars head coach Mirsad Mujcin. "But it's the first game of the tournament, it's not the end, so we'll keep coming back and we'll try to go 3-1 and take it from there. I'm not panicking yet. For 13- ad 14-year-old kids to get that ultimate game focus, it's pretty hard."
The 10-team tournament resumes today at 8 a.m., when the Cougars take on Calgary's Edge School for Athletes at Kin 2. The Cats also have a 2 p.m. game against Langley at Kin 1.
Playoffs start with semifinals Sunday at 8 a.m. at Kin 2 and CN Centre. The championship game is set for 1:15 p.m. at Kin 1.
The Cougars are a young bantam team, with just two players (Jacob Gendron and Sean Meehan) remaining from last year's provincial bronze medalists. In tournament play this season the Cougars have finished in the final in Chilliwack and Kelowna and were third in the Delta tournament. They ended up ninth out of 12 in the Pat Quinn tournament in Vancouver, the highest-calibre event they've entered.
"We roll with three lines and score by committee, it's coming, I always look to peak at the end of the year, and it's coming down to that stretch right now," said Mujcin.
The Cougars are already qualified for the Tier 1 provincials in Kamloops, March 19-23. After this weekend, they'll have one more tournament in February in Abbotsford, where they will be the defending champions
