The Pee Wee Cougars travelled to Brandon last weekend to play in a 12 team tournament. The Cougars dominated their pool defeating the Brandon Bruins 13 to 2, and the Kenora Red Lions, in their yellow jerseys, 10 to 2. In the A Side Playoffs, they lost to Quad Town, but defeated Virden 2 to 0 to take the A Side Consolation Prize. In the tourney, they ended up 3rd overall. Nice job, Cougars.
Jett "The Jettster" Big Eagle had one goal in the tournament and numerous assists. He continues to be a physical force in the corners. Tommy "The Sharpshooter" Cappo was deadly around the net and shot in 3 goals during the tournament. He also had numerous assists by setting up some pretty plays with his accurate passing. Jacob "Razamataz" Chalus had 5 goals in the first game, and 9 in the tournament, including one where he used his patented spinning, twisting, jumping deke. Jory Dyck played well all weekend and "J.D." scored a beautiful goal in game one when he one timed the puck and went top shelf past the Bruin goaltender. "Shake and Bake" Jake Macleod also had a great tournament. After his pre-game Gatorade ritual, Macleod went on to be a hitting force in all 4 games and cooked up 4 goals in the tournament including the winning goal in the final game. He also received the "Player of the Game Award" in game 2. Sam Matthewson, who always plays solid physical hockey, scored 4 goals in the tournament and hammered home a powerful slapshot in game one. Sam "The Ram" had been muscling his way through the Bruins' D all game. He later said, "I knew if I just kept putting hard shots on the net, eventually one would go in."
All weekend, Riley "The Rock" McCrimmon demonstrated his solid play by brushing off and delivering big hits in the neutral zone. He continues to be a rock solid competitor. Mac Niven's "Mac Attack" resulted in 3 goals on the weekend. Niven had a great tournament and certainly played with confidence and speed. Teammates noted how Dalton "Sandman" Loustel "put to bed" opposing forwards throughout the tournament and was named "Player of the Game" in game 4. He had numerous assists and frustrated opposing players by breaking up plays all weekend long. His line mate, Kirk "The Iron Curtain" Zacharias, continues to drape opposing offences and create scoring opportunities for the Cougars. He received the "Player of the Game Award" in Game 1. The other defensive line brought the heat and the cold. Ashton "Scorch You" Magatiaux burned opposing forwards on her side of the ice with some powerful hits, and great penalty killing play.
Meanwhile, Clayton "The Chill" Hill froze out the offence on the other side. Hill scored twice, including a walloping slapshot from outside of the blue line. Of course Kruz Wilson was a big part of the team's success on the weekend. Named "Player of the Game" in game 3, Kruz "The Great Wall" Wilson demonstrated why he is one of the Seven Wonders when he ended the tournament with a final game shutout.
Mini-sticks, Christmas shopping, a monster game of Marco Polo in the hotel pool, cups with scratch on names, and great hockey too, all made for a fabulous weekend in Manitoba. Thanks for all your hard work this weekend Coach Todd and Coach Gilles.
