Cougars close season with a loss
By Bill Rea

The Schomberg Cougars played well Thursday night, and even caught some breaks in the first period.

But that wasn't enough to give them a win.

They closed out their regular season with a 5-2 loss at the hands of the Erin Shamrocks.

The local guys got off to a good start, benefitting from some pretty sloppy play on the part of their foes, especially in the first period. Enrico Ferri was able to give his mates the early lead with a short-handed goal, assisted by Todd Cantelon.

Ferri said the play was the result of a "miscalculation by the Erin team."

"I just put it in the open net," he added.

But the Shamrocks were able to get their act back together and had a 3-2 lead at the end of the second period, and added two more markers in the third. Brandon Lisi notched the second Cougar goal, with help from Larry Volpe.

"I think we just lost position in our own zone," Ferri commented after the match.

Captain Eddie Wiederer was impressed that they were able to stay close to the Shamrocks for most of the match. "We were right there," he said.

Head Coach Gary Waldrum said there were a "lot of positives in the game," adding the loss was more the result of some momentary lapses from a young team. "We played a lot better than the end result."

The Cougars completed the campaign in seventh place in the seven-team Georgian Mid-Ontario division of the Ontario Hockey Association with 11 points.

The playoffs open tomorrow (Thursday) night, with the Cougars facing the tough Penetang Kings, who finished second in the division with 71 points. The firstplace Alliston Hornets get a bye in the first round.

The first game in the series will be tomorrow in Schomberg, starting at 8:15 p.m., and then the battle will move north to Penetang for games Friday and Monday nights. Both will be 8:30 p.m. starts. The fourth game will be next Thursday (Feb. 14) back in Schomberg, starting at 8:15 p.m. If a fifth game is necessary, it will be next Saturday (Feb. 16) in Schomberg, starting at 6:45 p.m. The sixth is set for Penetang Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m., and if the series goes the distance, it will wrap up in Penetang Feb. 20, starting at 8:30 p.m.

Despite Thursday's loss, the Cougars were expressing confident thoughts about the coming series.

"Big upset," Ferri predicted. "We're going to give them everything we have."

Wiederer agreed, commenting the team has come together and bonded. "We're going to change everyone's mind," he declared