California Cougars vs. Santa Clara
Blackhawks
Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/104669030400304034890/VsSantaClaraNov062011?authkey=Gv1sRgCPLDzNbEotOt1QE
Writeup of Game on 11/6/11; 6-2
win over Santa Clara Blackhawks at San Jose East
Shura Boz had 2 goals and 2 assists, John Bohac contributed 4 points, and Carson Murison made 28 saves as the
California Cougars extended its winning streak with a 6-2 win over
the Santa Clara Blackhawks in a Bantam B game on Sunday, Nov. 6 in
San Jose. The Cougars offense fired on all cylinders as 8 players
figured in the scoring.
The Cougars took the lead 6:49 into the game when Daniel Schmidt hustled and intercepted
a pass to set up a 3-on-2 with Erik
West, who stickhandled and
fired a pass to Adam Rosenduft and the fleet forward
showed he was good with the wood as he flipped a forehand into the
net.
Less than 7 minutes later Ryan
Bockholt started a 2-on-1
break with
Boz, who collected the
nicely saucered pass and lit the red light for the 2-0 lead.
The Blackhawks cut the lead in half midway through the middle frame,
but Kyle Tanaka pickpocketed the puck and
poked it ahead, and Pace
Farbstein was as cool as
the other side of the pillow as he skated around the defense and
lifted a forehand past the diving goalie to make it 3-1 with just
:14.2 left in the period.
After gaining momentum heading into the intermission, and after
rousing speeches from Assistant Coaches Devin Ernst and Christian
de Jesus, the Cougars came
out strong. It took only :06 for Boz
to steal the puck and headman it to Bohac, who sent a wicked wrister higher over the
goalie’s shoulder to make it 4-1.
Less than 4 minutes later Nash
Berkowitz joined the party,
and the Cougars’ leading scorer took feeds from Boz and Bohac and buried a forehand into
the net from the left faceoff circle to run his goal-scoring streak
to 4 games.
Bohac and Boz clicked again and the
playmaker notched his third assist when Boz was able to find the
twine with a long backhand that sneaked through the 5-hole for the
team’s 6th goal, and the 4th points of the game for each.
The Cougars’ defense returned to form with Murison standing on his head to
make a few stellar saves, with Max
Frenkel stickhandling the
puck out of harm’s way and Chase
Bolling playing tough on
both ends, taking 3 hard shots and stopping several more on defense.
Tom Beebe broke up a couple of
rushes with effective poke-checks, and Elliot
Salazar made sure any
scoring chances were only long-range attempts that were scooped up
easily by Murison. On
offense, Matthew Lydon and his line applied solid
pressure throughout the game especially in the second period.
Coach Rob Tenore complimented the team’s
effort in sticking to the system and containing the Blackhawks’ star
forward (#12), who was only a factor in one point with 1:56 left
that made the final score 6-2. The head coach remarked that the
checking forwards’ slowed down the Blackhawks’ entries into the
zone, and drove to the net more than in previous games.
Netminder Nick Gary noted that the Cougars’
defense was tougher in front of the net and forced mostly long shots
that Murison gobbled up
like Halloween candy. The Cougars now stand in 3rd place in the
division with a 2-1-1 record, with 5 points.
Game notes: The Cougars went
0-1 on the Power Play but also killed its only penalty. The team was
outshot 30-16 but scored on 38% of their attempts. Berkowitz won a team-high 12
faceoffs. Lydon and
Rosenduft each won 6. Farbstein led the team with 5
hits and extended his goal-scoring streak to 3 games. The Killer Bs
(Berkowitz, Bohac, Bolling and Boz) were each +4 on the game.
Editor’s Note: A
post-Halloween, post-game conversation was overheard, but our
fact-checkers were unable to corroborate it. It is believed that
Coach Rob gives a TWIX candy bar to each player who scores a goal.
Or it could be that for every goal the Cougars allow, the team has
to buy Coach Rob a TWIX candy bar. Or maybe it’s that every
penalized player has to give each kid on the team a TWIX bar. The
first explanation is believed to be the players’ choice.
Next Game: Saturday, Nov.
12 at 2:45pm vs. Lake Tahoe B at Bridgepointe (note change in
starting time)
Goals:
2: Boz (2)
1: Rosenduft (2), Farbstein (3), Bohac (2), Berkowitz (4)
Assists:
3: Bohac
2: Boz
1: Schmidt, West, Tanaka
Overall, after 4 games:
Goals:
4: Nash Berkowitz
3: Shura Boz, Pace Farbstein
2: John Bohac, Adam Rosenduft
1: Matthew Lydon
Assists:
4: John Bohac
3: Chase Bolling
2: Tom Beebe, Shura Boz, Matthew Lydon, Kyle Tanaka
1: Nash Berkowitz, Daniel Schmidt, Erik West