Three more tough losses last week for the Cougars
By Bill Rea

Mike Volpe and Jeff Mulvihill were battling with Erin's Tyler Hogan for the puck behind the Cougars' net during the second period of Saturday night's contest in Hillsburgh.

It was not a good week for the Schomberg Cougars.

The local heroes of junior C hockey endured three losses playing on the road.

But it was the third defeat, coming Sunday night in Fergus against the Devils, that produced the most promising signs.

Schomberg was edged 4- 3 in this outing, but they held the lead for most of the first half of the third period. The Devils eventually got their act together and went ahead, but a penalty in the last couple of minutes gave the Cougars the chance to pull even (they already had two power-play goals on the night). But the side just wasn't able to notch the equalizer.

Eddie Weiderer collected two of the goals for the Cougars, with Justin Brooks scoring the other power-play goal. Brooks also drew an assist, as did Colin Murray and Dan Valente.

It might have been a loss, but the effort impressed Head Coach Gary Waldrum.

"The boys really competed hard," he remarked later. "They showed some signs of being more determined."

Waldrum added the team had to deal with having a short bench Sunday, but the players who were on hand stepped up when needed.

"There weren't any passengers," he said. "Everybody worked. It was an awful lot of fun to watch."

It was an improvement over the team's performance Saturday night. They were to pay a call on the Erin Shamrocks, but a tournament kept the hosts out of their regular barn, so the match had to be moved to nearby Hillsburgh. The change in venue did little to help the Schomberg cause, as the guys fell 6-1.

"I don't think they did anything particularly well tonight," Waldrum commented after the match.

Brooks got the only goal for his side. It was a powerplay effort, assisted by Weiderer and Murray.

The team was in Stayner Thursday night, and the Siskins were ready for them. The game was close, in terms of shots of goal, with Stayner holding a 43-41 edge in that department. But the final score was 4-1 for the hosts..

Matt Steenhoek was the Cougars' marksman, with assistance from Brooks and Shane Jones.

Waldrum later said Stayner was more disciplined and motivated that night. "They seemed to have more enthusiasm for the puck than us," he observed.

The Cougars will be back at home tomorrow (Thursday) night for a game against the Alliston Hornets. it will start at 8:15 p.m.

Then they will be off to Midland Saturday to take on the Flyers. The puck will drop at 7:30 p.m.