Two solid efforts result in Cougars ending their slump
By Bill Rea

Joe Digirolamo made this shot count on Stayner goalie Shane Owen when he broke in while helping his mates kill a first-period penalty. The goal put them into the lead until the third period.

If last week’s play is any indicator, the Schomberg Cougars are back and ready for action.

The local junior C heroes turned in two very solid efforts, resulting in their first win after posting seven losses (with one incomplete game mixed in).

They notched their victory Friday night, when hot goal-tending from Ty Legrow helped the side to a 6-4 decision in Penetang at the expense of the Kings.

That win was both badly needed and well deserved after what happened the previous evening. The Cougars were tied with the Stayner Siskins with 21 seconds left in the third period when the winning goal was notched, leaving the Schomberg hosts on the wrong end of a 3-2 final.

This was a game that the Cougars were in from beginning to end. And for once, the shots-on-goal figures were reasonably close, with Stayner posting a 42-37 advantage.

The Siskins grabbed the early lead, when one of the Stayner shooters executed a bank shot off of one of the defenders which got the better of Legrow.

The Cougars had the tie restored 13 seconds later, thanks to the work of Thomas Faris, assisted by Eddie Wiederer and Chris Case, then they took the lead later in the frame, when Joe Digirolamo converted an unassisted short-handed effort.

Schomberg didn’t lack opportunities to put the match away, especially in the second period, in which they enjoyed a total of four minutes with a two-man advantage, but they were unable to add to their score. Stayner was the only team able to put a puck in the net during the frame, but that goal was waved off when referee Ken Stubbs ruled it went in off a high stick.

The Siskins tied things midway through the third period on a power play, and bagged the winner in the final minute.

Despite the loss, there was a lot of confident talk around the Cougars’ dressing room at the end.

“It’s a start,” Legrow commented. “We had the game in our hands, and we just sort of let it slip away there.”

He also agreed the two man advantages in the second should have been more productive.

Stayner might have trailed in the shots department, but Legrow said his defenders helped make sure that wasn’t a factor.

“I was seeing the puck well,” he said. “(The defencemen) were clearing rebounds for me, so it was good.”

“They didn’t win the game,” observed veteran Dan Naccarato. “I think we lost it for ourselves.”

“Slowly but surely, we’re starting to get more veterans into the line-up,” he added. “It’s only going to continue to get better.”

“The guys have got to stop worrying about the number of games we’ve lost and think about the future,’ he said.

Head Coach Gary Waldrum agreed experience is key in a situation like this, adding there wasn’t much keeping his men from victory that evening. “If you take two mistakes out of the game, we’re the winners,” he remarked. “That’s hockey.”

The team has been victimized with a number of lop-sided losses over the season, and Waldrum thought that could be part of the problem too. They haven’t had a lot of experience with close fights late in the game, so some of the younger players might not know what to do.

He also said getting a more consistent line-up will help, especially to get the power play click better.

When it came to Saturday’s outing, the only weak spot for the Cougars was in the shots-on-goal department, where Penetang had a formidable 48-19 advantage, including 20 of those shots in the third period.

Schomberg trailed 2-1 after one period, but they had things tied 4-4 at the end of the second. Faris put his mates in front for good in the first minute of the third, with help from Wiederer, and case put things out of reach in the final minute with a goal into the empty Penetang net.

“It was a strong performance by Ty,” Waldrum said the following day, referring to the goalie who stood up to so many shots. He said there was a lot of good, smart defensive play from his men, and he added the shooting figures were a little misleading.

The coach was also pleased that the scoring statistics were spread around the line-up. “That always helps,” he remarked. The other goals came

from Jake Whelan, Naccarato, Jason McMann and Luke Maw, with Naccarato, Mike Shuryn, Whelan and Shane Jones contributing assists.

The team has one more match before Christmas, and that’s tomorrow (Thursday) night, when they host the Alliston Hornets. The game will start at 8:15 p.m.