California Cougars vs Oakland Bears
Photos here: https://picasaweb.google.com/104669030400304034890/VsOaklandBearsOct222011?authkey=Gv1sRgCNS-07jo4bujTQ
California Cougars claim first
victory with 4-3 win over Oakland Bears
A third period goal by Shura
Boz and some late defensive
heroics propelled the California Cougars to a 4-3 win over Oakland
Bears in a Bantam B contest on Saturday, Oct. 22. Goalie Nick Gary made several sprawling saves in the last 2:00
to help preserve the team’s first victory.
After a scoreless first period in which the visiting Cougars outshot
the Bears 10-3, Pace Farbstein mucked along the
boards to keep the puck deep in the Bears’ zone and Matthew Lydon won the race to the rubber
in the far corner then fired a perfect centering pass to
Farbstein, who redirected
it high to the back of the net. Less than 2 minutes later the
special teams unit contributed big time. On the penalty kill, Kyle Tanaka applied the pressure and found Nash
Berkowitz in the slot, and
the big center converted by lifting the puck over the goalie’s
blocker for the 2-0 lead.
A defensive lapse enabled the Bears to cut the lead in half, but
John Bohac restored the 2-goal lead
when he scored a 5-hole goal off a feed from Berkowitz.
The lead was short-lived as the Bears struck for two quick scores,
first on a scramble in front of the net and :34 later on a screened
shot from the blueline that sidelined netminder Carson Murison said
Gary never had a chance to
see, though the nimble goalie did manager to save 21 of 24 shots on
the game.
With 9:30 remaining in the game, blueliner Tom Beebe headmanned the puck to Boz, who lugged the rubber up
the rink and finished the play in style to make it 4-3 in favor of
the Cougars.
Chase Bolling just barely failed to
extend the lead as he clanged one just off the post and Ryan Bockholt was denied in some scoring chances.
Erik West won 10 of 14 faceoffs,
including several key puck drops down the stretch. Adam Rosenduft won 60 percent of his faceoffs, and Max Frenkel staunchly held the blueline in the offensive
zone, while Elliot Salazar broke up a couple of
passes and
Daniel Schmidt backchecked effectively
as the team regrouped late to close out the Bears.
Coach Rob Tenore applauded the prowess of
the Cougars’ penalty kill, as the lines not only killed off both
infractions, but recorded Berkowitz’s shorthanded goal as well, as
the team moved to 1-1-1 on the season.
Game notes: Berkowitz went
14-4 in faceoffs and extended his goal-scoring streak to 3 games.
Beebe, Bolling, Boz, Farbstein and Lydon each were credited with a
team-high 3 hits in the physical game. The Cougars were 0-1 on the
powerplay but had several good shots. The team won the last 10
faceoffs of the contest. The Cougars outshot their opponents for the
first time, 27-24, but it seemed even more one-sided.
Goals: Pace Farbstein (2),
Nash Berkowitz (3), John Bohac (1), Shura Boz (1)
Assists: Matthew Lydon (2),
Kyle Tanaka (1), Nash Berkowitz (1), Tom Beebe (2)
Next Game: Sunday,
Nov. 6, 2011 at 3:00pm vs. the Santa Clara Blackhwaks at the
San Jose E. Rink (Sharks Ice at San Jose, 1500 S. Tenth St., SJ, CA
95112).
Plus / Minus
+2: Tanaka, Bolling,
Berkowitz
+1: Salazar, Schmidt, Boz, Bohac, West
0: Frenkel, Beebe
-1: Bockholt
-2: Rosenduft, Farbstein, Lydon
Overall, after 3 games:
Goals:
3: Nash Berkowitz
2: Pace Farbstein
1: Matthew Lydon, Adam Rosenduft, John Bohac, Shura Boz
Assists:
3: Chase Bolling
2: Matthew Lydon, Tom Beebe
1: John Bohac, Kyle Tanaka, Nash Berkowitz