Cougars Waste Chance to Qualify for Playoffs

March 9, 2002
The Vacaville Vipers whipped up on the Cougars 6-1 in the Cougars last home game of the 2001/2002 season. The Cougars wasted an opportunity to clinch a spot in the upcoming NorCal playoffs. Still, all they need is a win in either of their last two games, or a Santa Rosa loss in either of their games.

The Cougars came out flat, and stayed flat. Somewhere, from last weekend's excellent game against Capital Thunder, the intensity needed to beat another good team wasn't there. The execution wasn't bad, but just that final finish didn't have the zip it needed. The Cougars wound up outshooting the Vipers 39-16, but the majority of the shots weren't difficult saves and very few rebounds were given. Although the Cougars stayed in the game in through the first period (ended 1-0 Vipers), the players and the crowd kept waiting for the moment that would spark the entire team to turn it up a notch and do what they had to do to win this game. The Vipers have definitely continually improved since the beginning of the season, but this was a team the Cougars should have beaten.

Chance after chance just slipped through their fingers. Centering passes went through the crease without being touched, several breakaways ended up with the puck not getting on goal, and every minor mistake the defense seemed to make, resulted in another Viper goal.

Even when Logan Lichorowic scored his

	Logan

first goal of the regular season early in the third period to make it a 3-1 game, you could feel the the mood lighten and it felt like "Here they come. The Cougars will turn it on now." It just wasn't to be this day. Tomorrow they will have another chance to clinch a playoff spot, and the game against Tri Valley should be intense after their last game gave the Blue Devils their only blemish in an otherwise perfect regular season.