CARLYLE - Although the Carlyle Cougars’ season ended with a playoff loss to the Moosomin Rangers, coach Wade Robertson was pleased with the performance of his team this season.
Carlyle finished the regular season with an 8-7-1 record, losing to the Moosomin Rangers 2-1 in their best of three quarter-final.
Said Robertson, “Carlyle finished in the middle of the pack and we ended up fifth in a nine-team league. Four of our losses were by only one goal and we played hard and competitively every time out. The Cougars were often short players due to work and COVID related issues, but we never quit and I felt we delivered an entertaining product.”
Robertson added, “We had a good goaltending tandem of Ryan Kulyk and Landon Audette. Nearly half of our players were new to the team, namely Kulyk, Koby Morrisseau, Derek Fleck, Rhett Palmer, Colby Himmelspach, Devin Fafard, Matt Lavallee and Gavin Froese. These new additions meshed well with the other veterans: Ben Johnstone, Jon Gaudet, Brent McLean, Zach Brown, Tyler Fleck, Dakota Rose, Brett Turgeon, Cooper Fox, Billy Greenwood, and Branden Lequyer. Morrisseau, Johnstone, and Gaudet all finished in the top ten in league scoring. Froese … is one of the top three defencemen in the Big Six.”
Robertson thoroughly enjoyed his first year of coaching the senior Cougars.
“I really want to thank the people behind the scenes who helped out with the team. Ben Johnstone for managing and scheduling the games, Tyler Fleck for posting on the website and Facebook pages, and Ty Currie for his Twitter feeds.
“Thanks to Trent Johnson and Nicole Currie for announcing, and Kirk Himmelspach, Jason Dixon, Delan Robertson, and Mike Parker, among others, for working the clock and scorekeeping. Also, a big thank you to the wives and girlfriends for manning the gate and the pot of gold.”
In fact, Robertson enjoyed coaching the Cougars so much that he plans on returning to the team next year. He concluded the interview by saying: “While it has been a tough year with COVID restrictions and the like, me and the team really want to thank the fans of the Carlyle Cougars. Attendance and support have been fantastic and it was greatly appreciated. See you at the rink next year.”
