The Vankleek Hill Cougars went a perfect 2-0 last weekend in two road contests, allowing the local squad to move into a tie for second place in the National Capital Junior Hockey League (NCJHL) standings.
Vankleek Hill (13-6-1-0) is now tied with the Westport Rideaus (13-8-0-1) for second place in the NCJHL, with both teams sitting at 27 points, although the Cougars have two games in hand on the Rideaus. The Gatineau-Hull Volant remain in first place overall with a perfect record of 21-0-0-0.
Saturday, December 7 – Vankleek Hill Cougars 9, South Grenville Rangers 1
Andy Lightle-Blais and Cody Horner each scored twice, as the Cougars capped off a perfect weekend with a convincing 9-1 road win over the struggling South Grenville Rangers (4-13-0-1).
Reid Cunning, Derek Hamel, Johnny Kirby and Zach Langlois also found the back of the net for Vankleek Hill, while Sebastien Ouimet added four assists and Mathieu Belanger had three helpers. Tristan Paquette was solid in net for the Cougars, allowing only a late goal in the third period to earn the win.
Friday, December 6 – Vankleek Hill Cougars 3, Metcalfe Jets 2
Zachary Bigras scored the winner early in the third period, as the Cougars topped Metcalfe (7-9-0-2) 3-2 in a tight game at the Larry Robinson Arena in Metcalfe.
Cody Horner opened the scoring early in the first period, before Metcalfe answered with two goals to take a 2-1 lead. Garrett Cunning capped an exciting first period by scoring for Vankleek Hill with just 26 seconds left in the frame to tie the game up at 2-2. Mael Gendron earned the win in net for the Cougars.
Sunday, December 1 – Vankleek Hill Cougars 5, St-Isidore Eagles 4 (OT)
Sebastien Ouimet scored the winner in overtime to complete a hat trick on the night, as the Cougars took a hard fought comeback 5-4 win on the road against the St-Isidore Eagles (9-8-2-2).
Brenden Easterbrook and Maxime Laliberte were the other goal scorers for the Cougars, who trailed 3-1 after the first period. Mael Gendron was in net for Vankleek Hill to take the win.
The Eagles, who sit in fifth place in the NCJHL standings, had single goals scored by Justin Duschesne, Alexi Gaudreau, Cedric Hughes and Maxime Patenaude.
Saturday, November 30 – Vankleek Hill Cougars 0, Gatineau-Hull Volant 1
The Cougars gave the undefeated Volant as tough a match as they have had this season, falling 1-0 at home, despite a strong defensive effort.
Gatineau-Hull’s Matis Lapointe scored the only goal of the contest on a powerplay midway through the second period and Volant netminder Jacob Lepage earned the shutout.
Upcoming games – rematch with Gatineau-Hull this Saturday
The Cougars will have the opportunity to avenge last week’s 1-0 loss, with a rematch against the Gatineau-Hull Volant this Saturday, December 14, at the Vankleek Hill Community Centre. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
On Saturday, December 21, Vankleek Hill hosts the St-Isidore Eagles at the Vankleek Hill Community Centre. Puck drop for the contest is at 7:30 p.m.
And the Cougars will close out 2024 on Sunday, December 22, with an afternoon home game against the Almonte Inferno. Game time at the Vankleek Hill Community Centre is 4:30 p.m.
