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The Carlyle Pee Wee Cougars played a league game in Lampman on Tuesday, January 18. It was a great evening for hockey. There was even music between whistles that made the players feel like NHLers and the moms feel like dancing. The Cougars had a great game and ended up winning 5 to 1.

The Cougars came out strong right from the first whistle.

The defensive line of Dalton Loustel and Kirk Zacharias made their presence felt early on the offensive side of the ice. One and a half minutes into the opening period, Jake McLeod, who had picked up the puck deep in the Lampman end, passed the puck back to defenseman Kirk Zacharias. With a quick wrist shot past the goaltender, Zacharias put the Away Team on the board. Two minutes later, McLeod found the defenseman on the other side and Dalton Loustel slapped a hard shot through traffic and into the net to put Carlyle up by 2. Loustel and Zacharias continue to work well together with quick D to D passes and great hustle to stop opposing forwards.

The defensive line of Clayton Hill and Ashton Magatiaux also had a terrific game. Halfway through the first period, Magatiaux showed her speed and puck handling skill when she beat a Lampman player to a loose puck and then made a perfect pass for an assist. Hill was part of the hard hitting action in this game. It seems like he is always there whether it is to move the puck down the ice, to take a shot from the point, or to lay a big check on an opposing forward. Together the defensive duo of Magatiaux and Hill have played smart and physical hockey all season long.

The other incredibly effective part of the Cougar defence is Kruz Wilson. It has been great having Wilson in the blue and white this year. In this game, Wilson again showed backcatcher talent with his glove, but he also showed that he can play soccer. Twice he used a soccer "header" to deflect shots off his helmet and into the enormous glass wall at the Lampman rink. All night pucks went off our "wall" and into theirs.

The Cougar forward lines are likewise playing great hockey.

The line of Jake McLeod, Riley McCrimmon, and Sam Matthewson has a combination of strength and finesse. Jake is a center who rarely loses a face-off. He either pulls the puck back to his fellow teammates or does a stick to skate to stick move to burst past the other center. McCrimmon makes great passes and has an accurate shot. McCrimmon also moves the puck with authority. He and linemate Sam Matthewson are the powerhouses, the Rock and the Ram, who often prefer to move the puck through oppositions rather than around them. Sam Matthewson, as always, played a very physical game on Tuesday. At one point, Sam went down with a leg injury with only 2 minutes left in period 2. But he was back before the end of that period to score with his blistering slapshot, after picking up a pass from McLeod. These 3 certainly play well together.

The forward line of Mac Niven, Jett BigEagle, and Austin Dovell has also had a great year. It is always a pleasure to watch Niven during a game. All that the crowd sees, whenever Mac goes by, is a huge grin behind his grill. You can tell Niven loves to play. On Tuesday, center Mac Niven was very effective taking in the puck. He was a blue blur all game long. Jett BigEagle played with intensity in this game. As always his speed helped out the offense, but in this game his defensive play stood out. He made some great checks in the Cougar end and frustrated Lampman forwards whose sticks Jett swept from the ice before their passes arrived. Similarly Austin Dovell is an integral part of this line. He too always plays with passion and against Lampman he made some great checks and some sweet passes through traffic. This line has a nose for the puck and always plays with enthusiasm.

The other forward line of Jacob Chalus, Tommy Cappo, and Jory Dyck continues to be a passing machine. In this game it was Jory Dyck in the perfect position to catch a pass and put it into the Lampman net halfway through the first period. Then, in the second period, Dyck moved the puck into the Lampman end and passed to Jacob Chalus. Chalus then took a big hit in order to make a beautiful pass to Tommy Cappo. Chalus saw the hit coming, but he made sure that he got the pass to Cappo before the hit arrived. Cappo, the sharpshooter, made sure that the hit wasn't for nothing and shot the puck past the Imperial netminder. It was one, two, three, and into the Lampman net. These three put on an amazing passing display and didn't slow down the whole game.

The final line is that of Todd Magatiaux, Gilles Matthewson, and Clayton Geiger. They probably aren't as fast as the other lines, but they are certainly a big part of the success and fun that the Pee Wee Cougars are having this year. In Lampman, they worked tirelessly coaching players on and from the bench and giving scoring, passing, and "penalty avoidance" advice during the breaks. Thanks for all your wisdom, time, and effort Coach Line!

The Cougars all came together to play a great game and defeat Lampman 5 to 1. The entire Cougar team seems to have peeked just in time for Provincials. Their first Provincial round is against Wolseley. The first game is in Carlyle on Sunday, Jan. 30th at 1:00. Come out and growl for your Pee Wee Cougars!