Photo by Jon Yaneff Cougars forward Enrico Ferri battles with Alliston centre Ryan Algar, during the Hornets' 11-2 win on Thursday at the Schomberg Community Arena. Every game the Schomberg Cougars play the Alliston Hornets (27-1) they improve, but there is only so much they can do against a team that has only lost once in 28 games this season.

The Hornets have been an absolute juggernaut, now scoring 220 goals, only allowing 45, so a home-and-home, backto back series may not have been the best way to gain ground in the Georgian Mid-Ontario Junior C Hockey League standings for the Cougars.

The Cougars have scored the second-highest goal total in the GMOHL at 115 goals, though 105 less than Alliston. The Hornets were able to take advantage of the Cougars, outscoring them 17-3 in the two victories. Alliston beat them 11-2, Thursday at the Schomberg Community Arena, then out worked the Cougars again 6-1, Friday at the Town of New Tecumseth Recreation Complex.

"Our team has to realize that the game is not played per shift, it's played for an entire 60 minutes," said Cougars Head Coach Craig Armitage. "When we make mistakes we have to recover and not let the damage eat away, or else Alliston will score in bunches."

That seemed to be the theme of the first game of the series. After left-winger Luke Vanderhulst and Cougars forward Ryan Christadler each scored in the first period, Alliston dominated in every aspect, by scoring nine straight goals. The Hornets got two more in the first, four in the second, then three more in the third frame, as the two teams exchanged goals to end to game.

The Hornets had big games had centre Ryan Algar and Vanderhulst, who led with five points apiece (two goals, three assists), while right-wingers Eric Shannon (one goal, three assists), Chris Brown (two goals, two assists) and Pat McCarron (two goals, two assists) had four points each. The third-period Schomberg goal came from forward Jason McMann.

At Alliston, the Cougars played an extremely strong game, as the five-goal loss doesn't begin to describe the performance by Schomberg goaltender Mike Platten. He made 62 saves on 68 Hornets shots, taking the hard luck defeat.

"It's kind of nerve racking facing Alliston, but I just tried to keep it simple and stayed focused," said Platten.

In the first, right-winger Mike Campeau and Algar (having multiple shots on net) both scored to give the Hornets a 2-0 lead after the period. Vanderhulst and left-winger Chad Camirand (on the powerplay) beat Platten in the second to double the Alliston advantage.

With less than a minute in the period, Campeau crosschecked Schomberg forward Enrico Ferri from behind, and was given a game misconduct. From the Cougars bench, Brandon Lisi yelled at the ref, as he stuck up for his teammate and was also given a game misconduct for abuse of the officials.

In the third period, Ferri fired a one-timer from Todd Cantelon pass, as he beat Hornets' goaltender Troy Dowswell (12 saves on night).

Schomberg got back in the win column Saturday, beating the last-place Midland Flyers (2-23-2), 6-3 at the North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre.

This game had the GMOHL Player of the Month for November increase his point total to 38, as Dylan Chessell had two goals and an assist against the Flyers. The other Schomberg goals came from defenceman Adam Green, forward Adam Waring and a pair from Matt Steenhoek. The forward's big game came a day after he missed two breakaways at Alliston.

The fourth-place Cougars (13-13-2) have a pair of games before Christmas. They play the Flyers again in Schomberg Thursday starting at 8:15 p.m., then travel to the Penetanguishene Memorial Community Centre to face the second-place Penetang Kings (19-6-1) Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

Between the pipes: Goalies Platten and Mike Berdine both see their goaltending coach Ray Dyke at the Canadian Goaltending Academy every Wednesday, where they work on various techniques, including recovery methods on rebounds and their footwork.

The 17-year-old Platten has a save percentage of .915 in his last two games, making 98 saves on 107 shots. In his last six games, he has a percentage of .910.

"We need our goaltending to get hot, coming down the stretch and heading into the playoffs," said Armitage. "Hopefully he can build on his recent impressive play."

Injury report: Forward Mike Volpe has a deep, swollen contusion in his left leg and will miss the next four to five weeks. Defenceman Jeff Mulvihill has a shoulder injury and should start to skate in the next two weeks.