The Carlyle Pee Wee Cougars started the year with a game in Kipling on Friday, Jan. 7. Kipling got off to a good start and scored 3 unanswered goals. The Cougars tried to be Team Russia, but the comeback was foiled by Team Kipling, or at least the green Kipling player with the red shorts. Jake McLeod had a great game and scored twice in the third period to keep it close. Jory Dyck hustled hard all evening. He had numerous shots on net and certainly played with determination. Kirk Zacharias did a great job frustrating the Kipling forwards and stopped "red shorts" on many occasions, once with a solid check into the boards. Sharpshooter Tommy Cappo also put in a goal, but it wasn't enough and Kipling won 6 to 3.
On Sunday afternoon, the Cougars visited the Oxbow Huskies. The Cougars started strong and had a 4 to 1 lead at the end of the first period. Austin Dovell used his newly shortened stick to slam home a goal to start the game. Austin made some great plays and wonderful passes as he and his line put on an amazing passing display. The Mac Attack frustrated the Huskies as Mac Niven deked in and out of Oxbow traffic. He was a magnet for the puck all game long and ended up with a perfectly passed assist in the first period. Sam Matthewson had a great game playing the part of a Weeble. Oxbow tried to knock him over, but he would not go down. The Ram also ended up with some powerful checks of his own and was a force moving the puck up the ice. Riley McCrimmon likewise had a solid game. He ended up with an assist in the third period and numerous scoring opportunities during the game. He continues to be a threat in front of the net. Tommy Cappo had a terrific game against the Dogs. He had a hat-trick after scoring 2 goals in the opening period and one in the third. Tommy, as always, was tough to stop. Kruz Wilson had a superb game and stopped some incredibly powerful shots from the point. He got his money's worth from his equipment on Sunday. Wilson was busy all game, but only let in one goal. It was great to see Clayton Hill back on defence and his impact was felt. He moved the puck well, and set up numerous scoring opportunities for the Cougars. His linemate, Ashton Magatiaux, was also busy. The Oxbow wings saw a lot of #21's ponytail after she stole their puck and moved it back to the other end of the rink. Magatiaux and Hill were back in prime form stuffing opponents' scoring attempts. Dalton Loustel used his "Sandman Slam" when he took out the biggest Oxbow player with a great butt check. The husky Husky didn't know what had hit him. The second period was scoreless, despite many shots, but after a good pep talk during the second break, the coaches had the Cougars back to shooting and scoring. Jacob Chalus dominated with his speed in this game and though he didn't get a goal, he moved the puck well and had three assists. Jett BigEagle delivered some big hits during the game and was an important part of the Cougar passing attack. He kept the Oxbow goalie working and the Jettster had an assist in the first period. Jake McLeod again dominated the Huskies whenever he was on the ice. He had one assist and two goals during the game. One goal was a pretty five-hole shot that the goalie never even saw. The final score was Dogs 1, Cats 6. Way to go Cougars.
