The Polymer Extrusion Minor Peewee Jr. Cougars commenced play in the next round of the playoffs with a decisive 5 to 2 victory over the visiting Ajax Knights.

Game #1 of the Lakeshore League Semi-Finals was played on Thursday February 28^th at Memorial Arena in Cobourg.   After shaking off the rust following a week long layoff, the Jr. Cougars got on track in the second period with three quick goals to take control of the game.    The scoring started with Centre Trevor McNeely winning the face-off in the Ajax zone and drawing the puck to Winger Owen Whately.    Whately moved the puck behind the net and fed linemate Anthony Melchionna who redirected the pass at the edge of the crease high under the cross bar.     Cobourg’s second goal was potted by Josh Maguire who in a goal mouth scramble jammed the puck under the sprawled goalie.  Assists  on the play were awarded to linemates Cameron Murphy and Bryan McCormick for their hardwork in cycling the puck along the boards.    Three minutes later, this line would connect for another goal when defenseman Carter Stevenson keeps the puck in the offensive zone and passes to Maguire who in turn threads a pass across the slot to Murphy who rifles a wrist shot behind the outstretched glove of the goalie.     The Jr. Cougars fourth goal of the game was scored on a nice individual effort by Owen Whately.   The puck was gathered up in the neutral zone and Whately with speed enters the offensive zone and fires a wrist shot from the high slot.    The Minor Peewees closed out the scoring with 9 minutes left in the third period when Wyatt Pattison feeds Jack DiMarco from behind the net.  DiMarco makes no mistake on the play and one times the pass to beat the Ajax goalie on the short side.

The Polymer Extrusion Minor Peewee Jr. Cougars have been eliminated from the OMHA Playdowns at the hands of the Belleville Jr. Bulls.     In a hard fought and entertaining series, the Jr. Bulls prevailed by winning a pivotal game three in Belleville on Wednesday night and then closing out the series with cliff hanger the next night in Cobourg.   Three of the four games in this series were decided in overtime.

On Wednesday February 20^th, the Jr. Bulls defeated the Minor Peewees by a score of 2 to 1.    The game was decided with 1.43 left in overtime.   The Jr. Cougars opened the scoring in the first period with a goal by Jack DiMarco.  Wyatt Pattison passed it to DiMarco at the side of the net where he slipped it past the goaltender for the lone Cougar goal.   The Jr. Bulls rallied and scored the equalizer with less than a minute left in the second period.   After a scoreless third period the game went into overtime.  For over 8 ½ minutes of overtime hockey, the two teams moved back and forth between the two ends of the ice with the both goaltenders taking turns to thwart offensive drives.   Belleville however, on a goal mouth scramble, was successful in breaking the tie and emerged as the victor to lead the series 2 games to 1.    Branson Schell played a stellar game turning aside 31 shots in the loosing cause.

The next night, the two teams returned to play in Cobourg.   The Jr. Cougars, after a rousing pre-game pep talk by Coach Jay Stevenson, hit the ice with boundless determination and desire.   On the first shift of the game, Captain Josh Maguire deposited his own rebound over the goalie’s blocker.   Cameron Murphy, battling in the corner, was awarded an assist on the play.   Over the next two periods of play, the lead in the game would change three times.   In the second period, the Jr. Cougars would tie the score on a breakaway by Jack DiMarco.    Defenseman Shayne Ruddy would be awarded an assist for the break-out pass.  Three minutes later, the Minor Peewees would regain the lead when Owen Whately pounced on a rebound in the goalie’s crease on a shot from the low slot by Trevor McNeely who received an assist on the play.    Belleville early in the third period would tie the score, only to have Cobourg regain the lead 2 ½ minutes later when Maguire forced a turnover in the high slot and fires a wrist shot under the cross-bar.    With 3 ½ minutes left in regulation time, Belleville scores the equalizer and forces overtime.    The game and series was decided at the mid-point of the overtime period on another goal scored by Belleville at the edge of the crease.   

The Polymer Extrusion Minor Peewee Jr. Cougars started the OMHA Quarter-Finals in dramatic fashion with a come from behind victory on the road over the Belleville Jr. Bulls.

On Saturday February 16^th the Jr. Cougars travelled to Belleville and won Game #1 of a best 3 out of 5 series.   The Minor Peewee outcome was decided in overtime with Jr. Cougars prevailing with a 3 to 2 victory.

The Jr. Cougars had to shake off the rust after waiting on the sidelines for 12 days for the series to start.   After a scoreless first period, Belleville opened the scoring at 13.31 of the Second Period.   The Jr. Cougars however were unfazed and quickly tied the score two minutes later.  In a goal mouth scramble, winger Bryan McCormick pounded the puck through a maze of players at the edge of the goalie’s crease.

The Belleville Jr. Bulls opened the third period with a flurry and notched their second goal of the game early in the period.      The play remained evenly matched through the balance of the period until the last minute of play.  With goalie Branson Schell pulled for the extra attacker, Owen Whately redirected a pass from the high slot from Jack DiMarco to tie the game and send the match into overtime.

With the momentum now on the side of the Jr. Cougars, it took almost 7 ½ minutes of overtime hockey to decide the outcome of the game.    Defenseman Blake Robillard from the offensive blueline fired a wrist shot toward the Belleville goal where Cameron Murphy was positioned at the edge of the blue ice to deflect the shot.    The Minor Peewee Jr. Cougars had stole the win on the road and the crucial two points in the series.

Markham-Stouffville narrowly beat out Petrolia in overtime in the other semi-final match to earn the right to play Cobourg for the Championship game on the Olympic sized Sarnia Sports & Entertainment Centre.  Both teams knew everything was on the line and held nothing back.  The game was intense with seven penalties assessed each side.  Markham-Stouffville drew first blood five minutes into the game.  Cobourg was held off until late in the first on a goal by Lowry assisted by Simpson.  Two minutes later  Van Laren put a long shot the shoulder of the goalie for the goal ahead goal.  This proved to be the game winner.  The two teams battled back and forth throughout the second.  Three minutes into the third Van Laren tucked home the insurance marker on a shot from Severin.  For the remainder of the game, the girls played great defensively ensuring the Silver Stick win.  The game MVP,  Simpson, earned a composite stick for her outstanding effort.

Major atom Cougars make most of second chance...

At the outset of the season, reaching the Ontario Minor Hockey Association quarter-final playoff round wasn't expected for the Cobourg Lorenz and Son major atom Cougars. That feeling only intensified last Sunday.

Trailing a second-round best-of-five series 2-1, the Cougars were defeated 3-0 by the host Whitby Wildcats. Cobourg players were gracious in defeat. They shook hands with the opponents from Whitby and then raised their sticks to salute all the fans that cheered for them. The Cougars were eliminated from the OMHA playoffs. Or so it seemed.

When the report was sent to the OMHA office, it was detected that a Whitby player who was listed on the game sheet for Game 4 had received an automatic one-game suspension for hitting from behind the previous game.

OMHA regulation 8.1 (h) states that "Any player or team official whose name appears on the official game report and/or participates in the game and is ineligible for any reason will cause their team to forfeit the game regardless of the score of the game. The non-offending team shall be awarded the two points for the game. In OMHA Playdowns, the points will be awarded and the series will continue as per the contract. The coach shall be suspended for three games. The ineligible player shall be required to fulfill the balance of any suspension that made him ineligible."

Following the rules, the OMHA penalized the Wildcats and on Monday afternoon the Cougars received word that a fifth and deciding game would be played in Whitby that evening. If the Cobourg club could not make it, that game would be forfeited in favour of the Wildcats. Cobourg coach Mark Diminie was unsure if the suspended Whitby player had competed in the fourth game of the series, but regardless, on paper the Wildcats management made a mistake.

Diminie said the OMHA caught the error. It wasn't Cobourg that put the game under protest.

"We had nothing to do with it. In their eyes, or at least some of the parents, they thought we had protested the game. It was a very hostile atmosphere when we came into the arena," Diminie said.

"My only concern was that these kids are only 10 years old. I knew they were going to sense that parents are mad. I just didn't want that to affect them."

Once the game started, though, the series was settled on the ice. The Wildcats took a 2-0 lead in the first period despite some stellar play from Cobourg goaltender MJ Weightman who, Diminie said, prevented what should have been "four or five more sure goals."

Despite facing shorthanded situations in the second period, the Cougars responded to tie the game. Drew Wangen scored from the point on a power play at 2:13, which was Cobourg's only man-advantage of the contest.

Jeff Christensen then netted a shorthanded goal with four minutes left in the second. Facing a two-men-short situation early in the third period, Weightman turned aside each shot he faced to start what would be a flawless final frame.

After taking care of the Ajax Knights in four games in round one, the Minor Peewee Cougars continued their offensive premise with an impressive series sweep of the Oshawa Little Generals.

On January 30^th, the Jr. Cougars hosted Oshawa at Memorial Arena and emerged victorious with a 4 to 1 result.    The Little Generals scored at 3:59 of the 1^st period but were held off the score sheet for the balance of the game by goalie Branson Schell.    The Jr. Cougar goaltender turned aside 19 shots and allowed his team mates the time necessary to mount an effective comeback and win the game.   Defenseman Shayne Ruddy scored his first goal of the season to start the Minor Peewees on their way, with Josh Maguire, Anthony Melchionna and Bryan McCormick also contributing single markers.   Assists were awarded to Blake Robillard with two, Melchionna, Cameron Murphy, Josh Maguire, Trevor McNeely and Jack DiMarco.      Cobourg out shot Oshawa by a margin of 25 to 20.

On Sunday February 3^rd, the Minor Peewees took a break from the Super Bowl festivities to play Game #2 in the playoff series against Oshawa.    In a fast paced and evenly matched game, the Jr. Cougars prevailed with a 2 to 0 victory.   Cobourg opened the  scoring at 8:59 of the 2^nd period on a two way passing play between Anthony Melchionna and Trevor McNeely which allowed the Jr. Cougars to gain the offensive zone.  McNeely dished the puck back to defenseman Blake Robillard at the top of the face off circle who beat the Oshawa goaltender under the crossbar with a wrist shot.     The game remained tightly played until 8:01 of the 3^rd period when Josh Maguire on a two on one breakout with winger Cameron Murphy as the decoy, was successful in beating the goaltender with a wrist shot from the low slot through the five hole.   Assists on the play were awarded to Robillard and Shayne Ruddy.   Michael Rolph backstopped the Minor Peewees to the victory earning the shutout for his efforts.

The Polymer Extrusion Minor Peewee Jr. Cougars swept the Oshawa Little Generals in OMHA playdowns in a tightly played series.   The Jr. Cougars were victorious in Game #3 with a 2 to 1 victory on the road in Oshawa.   The win vaulted the Minor Peewees into the OMHA Quarter-Finals.

The Oshawa Little Generals in their attempt to stave off elimination played a determined and hard nosed game of hockey.   After a scoreless 1^st period, the Generals finally found the back of the net at 13.47 of the 2^nd period.    Goalie Branson Schell slammed the door shut after turning away 19 shots.    Schell’s stellar play between the pipes allowed his team mates time to get on track and a shot at the win.    Captain Josh Maguire became a dominant force in the third period and lead the team to victory scoring both Cobourg goals.   At 10:38 of the 3^rd period, Maguire scooped up the loose puck in the defensive zone and streaked down the ice splitting the back checkers and deked the goalie on his glove side.     The game winning goal was scored on the power play with Cameron Murphy and Jack DiMarco playing strong along the boards deep in the Oshawa zone.  DiMarco found an open Maguire who made no mistake in firing a wrist shot from the low slot.

Come out to see the Cougars on February 11,2008 for free.  All CCHL registrants get in for free as long as you are wearing your team jersey.  Please see below for the details: