Plenty of new facs seeking spots in the line-up for the 2007-'08 Cougars
By Bill Rea

John Pegg was trying to get the puck in front of the Uxbridge net for his Cougar mates Friday night.

There are going to be a lot of new faces in the lineup this year for the Schomberg Cougars.

The local junior C hockey heroes took to the ice for their first pre-season game Friday night in Bradford against the Uxbridge Bruins, but they fell 5-0.

Head Coach Gary Waldrum didn't seem too upset with the way things went, pointing out it's still early days and he's trying to assess the talent he has. The team has just completed open tryouts.

"We're quite happy with the heart," he remarked, adding the guys he has have shown courage and seem willing to fight and scrap along the boards. "I don't think any of the guys backed down."

There wasn't much in the way of organization on the ice, but the coach said that was to be expected with the first real outing.

He added he wasn't sure how many veterans from last year will be trying to get back in the lineup. Some of them are trying out for junior A or other clubs.

The next pre-season game will be tonight (Wednesday) at Teen Ranch in Caledon against the Hurontario St. (Highway 10), about half a kilometre south of Highway 9.

Waldrum also said there are openings in the off-ice part of the organization, in terms of coaching and training personnel. Applications can be directed to schombergcougars@post.com