With one swipe of his hockey stick Sunday morning at Kin 1, Jeremy Gervais helped clinch a B.C. Hockey Major Midget League victory and put his name into the Cariboo Cougars' record book.
The 18-year-old Cougars defenceman connected on a point blast which rippled the net behind Fraser Valley Thunderbirds goalie Boston Bilous for the insurance goal in a 5-3 victory.
Gervais' goal was his 13th of the season and 38th point, breaking Bryan Allbee's team record for points by a defenceman in a single season. Gervais took a return pass from Mason Richey and roofed it into the net. Gervais also assisted on Jesse Pomeroy's game-winner, 1:29 into the third period, with the teams playing 4-on-4.
That helped take the sting out of Saturday's wild encounter, a game in which the T-birds led 4-0, gave up the next five goals, then scored two to close out a 6-5 win.
"I think yesterday's game helped us today. Even though we went down 2-0 (on Sunday), we bounced back and it just showed we learned from (Saturday's game) and we're not going to lose games like that and we're going to keep coming out with wins as we get close to playoffs," said Gervais.
"I don't think we were mentally prepared for them (Saturday). They were a bit lower in the standings and I don't think we came in thinking it would be a game we had to battle. We didn't respect them enough and it showed."
Riley Krane scored two goals in the first period Sunday to erase the 2-0 deficit for the Cougars and Richey had a single in the second period. Dawson Penner, Brodi Stuart and Justin Plett, with a shorthanded effort to tie the game 3-3 in the second period, were the Fraser Valley goal-scorers.
Shots were 41-19 in the Cougars' favour. Zach Wickson picked up his 14th win of the season for the Cougars. Chad Cromar started in net for the T-birds but got hurt 9:06 into the third period and was replaced by Bilous.
The Cougars remain first in the 11-team league with a 28-5-1-0 record, while Fraser Valley (20-11-3-1) is fourth. Breaking Allbee's record gave Gervais a sense of accomplishment but it's the win that matters most to him.
"It feels great but it's just nice that those points are letting the team win and got us heading in the right direction," said Gervais. "It's nice to get (the record) with a goal."
On Saturday, two third-period goals from Plett gave the T-birds the win. He scored on a Cougars' turnover 16:19 into the period, then took advantage of a clearing attempt which hit off an official, allowing him to get to the puck and deke Wickson for the winner at 17:55.
The T-birds got two power-play goals and an even-strength marker from Jonathan Rees for a 3-0 lead early in the second period, prompting Cougars coach Trevor Sprague to replace goalie Marcus Allen. On the first shot Wickson faced, he tried to pounce on the puck but it drifted to Stuart, who chipped it over the goalie into the net.
The Cougars got it going with a power-play goal from Tyler Maser, then Jarin Sutton, Darian Long and Trey Thomas each scored in the second period and Devin Sutton gave the Cougars their only lead,11:05 into the third period. The Cougars outshot the T-birds 54-19.
"They're a good quality team and their goaltending is fantastic and there was a lot of adversity for us, facing that," said Cougars assistant coach Bryan MacLean. "After (Saturday's game) and going down 2-0 (Sunday) I liked our character to bounce back. It's a tough time of the year with playoffs just around the corner and teams are starting to ramp it up and we just have to match that."
While Gervais is getting deserved notice for his offensive flair, MacLean says lately he's been one of the team's top defensive specialists.
"This weekend, Jeremy played very well. We gave up six (Saturday) and he wasn't on the ice for a goal against," said MacLean. "He's done a good job recently focusing on the defensive side of the game. We know what he can do offensively – he can score timely goals and he gets you points when you need them."
The Cougars host the Greater Vancouver Canadians this weekend.
