The Coast Inn of the North Cougars were looking for a hero. They found one in the form of Derek Bulmer.
The Cougars, hosts of the Columbia Bitulithic midget Tier 1 hockey tournament, were locked in a 2-2 tie with the Chilliwack Bruins Friday afternoon at the Kin Centre. Half way through the third period, Bulmer took matters into his own hands when he scored a beautiful go-ahead goal on an end-to-end rush. The marker stood up as the winner in a 3-2 victory for the Cats.
After he drove wide on the Chilliwack defenceman, Bulmer broke for the net and was almost behind it when he reached back with his stick and tucked the puck across the goal-line.
"He's a pretty big and strong kid and he's extremely talented," said Cougars coach Jason Garneau. "He still, I think, has to figure out how good he can be. The biggest thing with Derek is consistency and when he puts that together he's a pretty dynamic force on the ice."
Michael Bhatoa and Austin Gray also scored for the Cougars, who twice fought back from one-goal deficits. Riley Druskin was the winning goaltender and came up with some dandy saves, including a couple glove grabs that sent Chilliwack shooters away in frustration.
"He was very, very good -- very solid," Garneau said of Druskin.
The 15- to 17-year-old Cats started the eight-team event with a 7-3 win against the Mission Stars on Friday morning. In that game, Coast Inn had seven different goalscorers -- Gray, Riley Hawes, Jordan Low, Bulmer, Justin Schwing, Isaiah Berra and Bhatoa. Thane Anderson, with three assists, also figured prominently in the offence. In goal, Mitch Profeit picked up the victory.
Today at Kin 2, the Cougars will finish pool play with a 10:15 a.m. game against the Vernon Vipers. Earlier this season, the Cats beat the Vipers 10-1 in the final of their own tournament.
"Revenge is going to be on their minds, for sure," Garneau said. "I hope our young men are going to be ready for a battle because Vernon is a good team. They work hard, they're well-coached and they've got good team speed as well."
Teams on the other side of the draw are the Kelowna Rockets, NEBC Trackers, Hollyburn Huskies and Coquitlam Chiefs.
Crossover semifinals are scheduled for 6:15 p.m. (Kin 2) and 6:45 p.m. (Kin 3) today. On Sunday, the championship game will start at 10 a.m. in Kin 2 and the battle for bronze will begin at 10:30 a.m. in Kin 3.
