Season completed

Recent Games Date vs. Result 03/30 San Jose Jr. Sharks Championship Game W 4-3 03/29 Yorba Linda Blackhawks W 7-2 03/29 San Jose Jr. Sharks L 6-5 03/28 San Diego Ice Arena W 4-2 For complete team record, see Record page

Meet The Team   (Click on image)

2007-2008 STATE CHAMPS

March 30

The Cougars arrived in San Diego as one of four teams vying for the state championship The first game was against the champs of the SCAHA, the San Diego Gulls.  Although the team didn't play their best, they managed an ugly win. The biggest reason the Cougars were able to stay in the contest was the extraordinary play exhibited by our goalie David.

The second game was against our Norcal rivals, the Jr. Sharks of San Jose.  The Cougars came out strong and built a 5-2 lead going into the third.  However, the Jr. Sharks would not give up and came back to tie the game at 5 sending it into overtime.  The play was very tense and unfortunately the Jr. Sharks scored the game winner.

Our last game before the finals was against the Yorba Linda Blackhawks.  The team played well and got contributions from all the players, including a great breakaway and shot from Brendan.  It was good to see Austin return after recovering from a broken arm and Garin return after his bout with Bronchitis.  The Cougars scored five unanswered goals before the Hawks got on the board.  The Cougars then got into penalty trouble as the Hawks scored again but the team settled down and scored twice more for a final of 7-2.  That win guaranteed them a spot in the finals.

The championship game was against none other than the Jr. Sharks, the same match up that we saw in the Norcal finals.  On a positive note, the two best teams in CAHA were from Northern California.  The tension was very high as the game started and increased by three notches when the Jr. Sharks scored fifteen seconds into the game.  The Cougars then got into trouble with a penalty less than a minute later.  They successfully killed the penalty and had several power play opportunities during the first stanza but were unable to get a puck passed the Jr. Sharks goatender.  The first period ended with the Cougars trailing 1-0.

Four minutes into the second period, while killing a penalty, Jack broke away and found the back of the net to tie the game 1-1.  The Cougars then got undisciplined and began filling the penalty box.  They had to fight off 1:15 of 5-on-3 and shortly after had to kill two consecutive penalties.  David was perfect in net.  The Cougars seemed to get some new life but three minutes later, the Jr. Sharks quickly scored two goals in ten seconds putting the Cougars down 3-1.  Finally with four minutes left in the second, George came out of the penalty box with new determination, and single handedly took the puck into the offensive zone, took a shot, grabbed the rebound and forced the puck into the net.  The second period ended with the Cougars trailing by just 1, 3-2.

The Cougars gained their composure in the third period and began working hard together and less then two minutes into the period, Sam jammed in a rebound from George and Vlad's hard work, tying the game 3-3.  The Jr. Sharks began to unravel with some penalty trouble of their own. The Cougars had four power play opportunities but could not capitalize on the advantage.  The clock expired in regulation with the score tied at 3, sending the game into sudden death overtime.  The first 10-minute overtime period began with the Cougars killing the last minute of a penalty that carried over from the 3rd period.  The game continued with both teams mounting strong attacks that were turned away by the other's defense, including a four-on-one break that Anthony successfully defeated.  As the period wore on, the players on both sides began showing signs of fatigue and it became apparent that endurance would play a factor in the outcome.  Finally with two and a half minutes left, Brandon skated the puck around the Jr. Shark's forward and passed it over to Clyde, who took a shot from the blue line.  The shot rebounded out front and Jack chipped it in for the game and championship.  The kids flooded the ice, littering it with sticks, gloves and helmets as they tackled David, and celebrated their victory with hugs and high fives.  You can see the whole team here.

Congratulations to the entire team, the coaches and parents (most of whom are recovering from mild cases of nervous hypertension).

This is Chuck signing off for the last time........have a great summer everyone.......