After putting up a diminutive human wall in the crease to survive an extended late-game power play and defeat the Kelowna Rockets 4-3, Viking Construction Cougars goalie Brady MacKay faced another onslaught as the final buzzer sounded.
He had to struggle to stay on his feet to keep from being swallowed by his swarming teammates. That wasn't easy for the 12-year-old MacKay. Not when some of those Cougars are the size of defencemen Terrell Goldsmith and Ben Sullivan, who looked like giants in comparison.
MacKay, a first-year peewee goalie, stood up to some intense scrutiny in the dying minutes of the game Thursday afternoon at Kin 1 but held his ground, backing the Cougars to their first and only win at the six-team peewee Tier 1 provincial hockey championship.
"It was good to beat them, that was our first win in the tournament," said MacKay. "It was hard but I just had to stay on my game and make as many saves as I can. We just worked as a team better."
MacKay became the go-to goalie for the Cougars after second-year peewee Navann Lamarre suffered an MCL tear Tuesday night when Goldsmith fell on him while trying to keep a Burnaby player from getting to the net.
As the host team of the four-day tournament the Cougars knew they were in tough against the likes of Burnaby, Semiahmoo and Victoria, all regional playoff champions who draw their rep team players from much larger population centres. Their first three games were lopsided losses but in their fourth game, with MacKay in net, the Cougars held Victoria Racquet Club to just two goals in a 2-0 loss Wednesday. They went on to play their best game of the tournament Thursday.
The Cougars and Rockets met several times during the season and most of those games were close. Cougars head coach Travers Rebman was impressed with MacKay's poise under pressure, which bodes well for him and the team next season when they return for a second year of peewee hockey.
"They got better as the tournament went along and were adjusting, so it worked out well to get a win in the last one," said Rebman. "It makes the off-season a little bit more enjoyable."
Prince George trailed 1-0 on a goal by Rockets Ewan Minosofer, the only goal of the first period, but the Cougars rallied with three goals in the second period to take a two-goal lead. Dylan Illett combined with linemates Miguel Marques and Smyth Rebman to get the Cougars on the board 6:31 into the second period. Caleb Poitras put Viking ahead 35 seconds later and Illett came up with an unassisted goal later in the period.
The Rockets made it a one-goal game early in the third period, but less than a minute later Marques ended a scramble in front of the net by popping in a loose puck for what stood as the winning goal. Maddix McGagherty pulled Kelowna close again with about 10 minutes left.
The Cougars penalty-killers were on the ice for six full minutes of the third period but did not falter.
The Rockets put uncomfortable pressure on the Cougars while Rebman sat in the penalty box for four minutes for making head contact. They got shots through to MacKay but the Cougars were quick to get to any rebounds and effectively cleared the zone.
"This was definitely a nice way to end the season, with a win," said Illett, 13, who also had an assist in the game. "When they came back with a couple of goals we definitely had to respond."
Goldsmith was the only Cougar player who played at the Tier 1 peewee level last year and he relished his role as one of the team's designated leaders. This year's squad included seven players who made the jump from the atom house league level.
"We got a little more confident at the end of the tournament and we came in (to Thursday's game) ready to play and compete hard," said the five-foot-11, 160-pound Goldsmith, who turns 13 in May.
"Brady had a really strong game, he played really confident."
In other round-robin results Wednesday, Burnaby beat Semiahmoo 3-2 and Victoria topped Kamloops 6-5. Burnaby and Victoria met in the championship game late Thursday.
In Quesnel at the midget Tier 2 provincial championship, the Prince George Panago Cougars and Quesnel met in the final late Thursday night. Both teams had 4-1-1 records heading into the championship game. Prince George and Quesnel played to a 2-2 tie in round-robin play on Monday.
The Prince George Farr Fabricating bantam Tier 1 Cougars (2-1-1) advanced to the final Thursday night against Seafair of Vancouver (4-0-0). Seafair beat the Cougars 4-1 on Wednesday.
In Fort St. John at the midget Tier 1 provincials, the Prince George Coast Inn of the North Cougars took a 3-0-1 record onto the ice Thursday afternoon against Central Zone. The Cougars will also play Saanich Friday at 10:45 a.m. The final will be played Friday at 7:30 p.m.
In other Prince George team provincial results: Portal Installations bantam Tier 2 Cougars (2-4-0) finished sixth in Vancouver; Premium Truck and Trailer peewee Tier 2 Cougars (2-4-0) finished sixth in West Vancouver; Ramada Plaza peewee Tier 3 Cougars (0-4-0) finished ninth in Summerland.
The Western Industrial Contracting bantam female Cougars got off to a 1-1 start at their provincial tournament in Vancouver, while the Scotiabank peewee female Cougars played Kelowna in their first provincial game Thursday at Dawson Creek.
