2003-04 Bantam B - Regular Season Game 11 Details vs. Oakland

2/7/04 - Cougars sneak past Oakland with 1-0 win

1st period -
With the end of the season growing near, the teams are all battling for playoff slots. The Oakland Bears were a game ahead of the Cougars in the standings, so this was a must win. With some of their top players out, the Cougars knew this was an important game. The weight of this game seemed to fall heavily on goalie #20 Eric Berner, who started the game off with some brilliant saves. The period was a mixture of end-to-end chances for both teams, with no one team dominating. Coming off a very physical game against Berkeley, the Cougars were playing very cautiously. This paid off, as Oakland took a penalty late in the period to give the Cougars their first power-play opportunity.

2nd period -
Cougars were able to capitalize on the man-advantage to take the early lead on a goal by #14 Josh Bautista. Now it was a matter of playing strong defense, and staying out of the penalty box. Well, this is hockey, so no chance of doing that!!!!! Cougars took a penalty, but fortunately the Oakland Bears were unable to score, thanks to great defensive play by #47 Jordan Fragoza, and #64 Shoshana Levine. The Cougar defense was getting involved on the shot clock, as #16 Denis van de Goor and #81 Zefan Hurley each had several great shots from the point.

3rd period-
Cougars still maintaining the one goal lead, were relying on the outstanding goaltending from #20 Eric Berner. The Cougars had several more great scoring chances form #9 Jeff Adams and #26 Brian Townsend. With great defense and great goaltending late in the period, the Cougars ensured their victory.

Summary:
Although the team was missing several of its key players, it was one of the best played defensive games of the season. The Cougars really came out and played like a team. Great Job!!!