The Pee Wee Cougars kicked of February with a home game against Arcola. The game had a bit of an odd start as the Combines goaltender was running late. In an excellent display of sportsmanship the Cougars own Missy Biermann stepped in to fill the void for the first ten minutes until he arrived. Zane Winters got the nod from the coaches and was between the pipes for Carlyle. The young Cats started out hot, exerting pressure on the Combines as soon as the puck dropped; they weren’t able to bury anything and Arcola took advantage of a momentum swing, drawing first blood. The Cats maintained their intensity, exchanging goals with the Combines. The first period ended knotted up at 2 goals apiece. Carlyle took the lead in the second thanks in a large part to Brody Yuzicappi and Degan Galbraith. Brody had a monster game, eating up minutes with possession time and hitting his line mates with spectacular passes. He scored three goals and two assists in the contest. Meanwhile, Degan Galbraith put his passing skills on display in center ice. He was a force to be reckoned with on the forecheck, causing all sorts of havoc in the offensive zone and forcing Arcola into some poor decisions in their own end. The young Cats were up 6-3 after two. The third saw Arcola come out with a chip on their shoulders but Carlyle’s blue line was up to the challenge with Nolan Pelletier blocking shots in the defensive end and rock solid on the offensive blue line, coupled with Hayden McArthur showing excellent poise with the puck at both ends of the ice. Whenever something did get through Zane Winters was up to the task, shutting down a couple of solid flurries midway through the third period. The Cougars open up February on a high note, a 10-6 victory over the Combines.
