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Whitcomb powers Cats to win

A quick start propelled the LJ Contracting Cougars to a 5-2 win against the Castlegar Rebels in their first game of the B.C. Hockey Midget Tier 2 provincial championship tournament.
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A quick start propelled the LJ Contracting Cougars to a 5-2 win against the Castlegar Rebels in their first game of the B.C. Hockey Midget Tier 2 provincial championship tournament.

In the game, played Monday night at Kin 1, the Cats had a 3-0 lead after the first period and were up 4-0 by the end of the second. Offensively, they were sparked by Dean Whitcomb, who finished with a goal and three assists.

"He played really well," said Cougars head coach Wes Scott. "He's one of our top guys and he had a high-energy effort and obviously had an impact on the game. But I still think he's got a lot more to give."

Bailey McFaul, Matthew MacSemniuk and Garet Anderson scored the first-period goals for the Cougars and Tyler Marsh struck in the second. Whitcomb - after assisting on the markers by McFaul, Anderson and Marsh - got his own in the third. On the play, the Cougars worked the puck up ice with some precision passing. Once Whitcomb got it on his stick, he used his quickness to step past a Rebels defender, went wide on the goaltender, and was left staring at an open net.

Other than some penalty problems in the third period, the Cougars gave Scott little to complain about.

"One of the biggest fears when you start an event like that is the emotions and the jitters and all that type of stuff," he said. "But we had almost a breakaway on the first shift and their goalie made a big save. But we poured the diesel to them and if we hadn't got into penalty trouble I don't know how the game would have ended."

Scott was especially pleased with the play of his defence corps.

"We had some really solid performances, especially from some of our D," he said. "The defence collectively played really well - being down two men a handful of times was a test of their grit."

In other Monday results, the Aldergrove Bruins beat the Williams Lake Timberwolves 9-2, the Vernon Vipers blasted the Fort St. John Flyers 11-0 and the Mission Stars defeated the Campbell River Tyees 5-2.

The Cougars played Fort St. John on Tuesday night and won 5-2.