They beat a major rival and had a shot at gold in their home event. For the Grama's Inn Cougars, all signs are pointing in the right direction.
The Cougars, the city's midget Tier 2 rep hockey team, skated against the Terrace Kermodes in Sunday's championship game of the Bon Voyage Inn tournament. The Cats came close to victory but dropped a 4-2 decision after Terrace scored twice in the last half of the third period. The winner came on a power play and the insurance marker was into an empty net.
Earlier, in their fourth game of round robin, the Cougars battled to a 5-3 win against the Williams Lake Timberwolves, a club that has been giving them trouble since the puck dropped on the 2016-17 season.
"We're coming along better as a team and the boys seem to be improving and they're starting to mesh now," said Cougars assistant coach Chase Astorino. "They're working the systems a lot better now and it's starting to show."
While playing in the final of the six-team tournament was exciting for the Cougars, Astorino said the highlight was likely the win against Williams Lake. The Cats will also have to get past the Timberwolves to earn a berth in provincials at the end of the season.
"Out of all the teams we've played this year, they've probably been the toughest," Astorino said. "They're very disciplined and they're a very physical team. They're well-coached and their talent pool is pretty deep."
The Cougars started their weekend with a victory against Smithers and a loss to Terrace. Next, they topped Kitimat, which set them up for the game against the Timberwolves. Astorino said the win in that one was a boost heading into the last game of round robin, a Sunday morning contest against the Quesnel Thunder. The Cougars nearly silenced the Thunder completely in a 7-1 victory.
Goaltenders Zach Parlee and Lucas Ens shared the puckstopping duties during the tournament, held at the Kin Centre. Other members of the Cougars are James Lalikeas, Jayden French, Hayden Kerr, Brendan Mosely, James White, Trinity Robbestad, Skylar Miller, Trent Peters, Aiden Weis, Ryan Mager, Kienan Miller, Dan Zimmerman, Austin Guignard, Brady Miller, Raymond Prive, Bryden Basran and Blake Astorino, who is the younger brother of assistant coach Chase. Ed Astorino (father of Blake and Chase) is also an assistant coach, while Derek Miller calls the shots as head coach. Grant Zimmerman is the team manager.
The 15- to 17-year-old Cougars are off this weekend and will play Cariboo Amateur Hockey Association league games the following weekend in Quesnel.
Locally, the Coast Inn of the North midget Tier 1 Cougars will host a tournament this weekend. Games will start on Friday at the Kin Centre.
