Writeup of California Cougars going 1-1-1 in Anaheim Turkey Day Tourney

The California Cougars left quite an impression on its Southern California swing by earning 3 points in 3 games during the Turkey Day Bantam Tourney in Anaheim, CA on Nov. 25-27.

The Cougars improved each game, as a 6-0 loss to the Bakersfield Dragons was followed by a 3-3 tie with the Channel Islands Riptide and a resounding 5-0 victory over the Anaheim Select squad on the big Olympic ice rink.

Before the final game, Coach Rob Tenore shifted the line assignments and the strategy paid off big time.  Captain Nash Berkowitz had 2 goals and 8 players figured in the scoring, with goalies Carson Murison and Nick Gary both stacking the pads effectively as they combined to make 11 saves for the shutout.

Early in the third line's first shift, Erik West corralled the puck and fed Pace Farbstein, whose initial shot was redirected to Adam Rosenduft, whose follow shot kicked out to the right of the crease to a perfectly positioned Pace, who lifted it near side over the sprawling goalie.  On a powerplay less than 4:00 later, John Bohac's shot was kicked to the corner, where physical forward Farbstein fed a ready Rosenduft in the slot, and he rippled the mesh with a hard forehand past the goalie's blocker for a 2-goal lead.

As dominating as the Cougars were in the first frame, the team was even more impressive in second stanza.  Just 1:21 into the period, Shura Boz kept the puck deep in the offensive zone and Bohac's shot deflected to an open Berkowitz, who rammed home the rebound for a 3-0 lead.  Just 1:15 later Elliot Salazar headmanned the puck to Kyle Tanaka, and the fleet-footed forward's forehand tipped up to Matthew Lydon, who showed off some silky-smooth hands by batting the airborne puck into the net to make it a 4-goal game.  Not long after, Chase Bolling broke up a rush on the penalty kill and served up a Thanksgiving treat to Berkowitz at the blueline, and his long clapper (as they call a lethal slapshot in Canada) deflected past the goalie for the team's fifth goal and its biggest offensive output of the year.

Defender Tom Beebe took a team-high 3 hits and helped preserve the shutout late when he rejected a puck that was headed for the back of the empty net, and Salazar did the same when he reached behind the goalie to stop another attempt.  Ryan Bockholt and Daniel Schmidt each dished out 2 hits, and the special teams' play was outstanding, as the Cougars set up well and netted both a powerplay goal and a shortie.

The team was obviously inspired by the organ donated by Max Frenkel and his gift to the team, but the entire Cougars' organization hopes he doesn't lose any more body parts before he rejoins the squad next month.  A special thanks was given to the many relatives and friends who traveled to SoCal and rooted on the team to its impressive performance (made even more impressive because the puck dropped at 6:45 a.m.!)

Assistant Coach Devin Ernst praised the team for its energy and sticking to the system, as the Cougars exhibited the best display of setting up in the offensive zone all year.

Game 3 notes: The game was a veritable Hit Parade, as the team -- whether grumpy or not due to the early start -- had more hits than the Rolling Stones (15, to be exact).  It was a Thanksgiving cornucopia of positive numbers, with the Cougars winning on the ice -- outhustling the Select squad and controlling play -- and on the stat sheet, to the tune of a 25-11 advantage in shots, the first time the team outshot its opponent.  The Cougars scored a shorthanded goal and killed off its only penalty, and scored on its only power play.  Bohac had a team-high 7 takeaways, and Tanaka and Berkowitz each had 6.  Rosenduft won 7 of 11 faceoffs.  Farbstein had a team-high 7 hits and spent only 2:18 in the Sin Bin (down from 4:00 the game before).  The Cougars have scored in 8 of 10 contests this year and 6 of Farbstein's 7 goals have been the team's first score.

Game 2: 3-3 tie with Channel Islands Riptide

A pair of questionable penalties in the final two minutes gave the Channel Islands Riptide a 5-on-3 advantage, which they converted with a big slapshot that eluded the screened Cougars' goalie for a 3-3 tie.  The Cougars had rallied from a 2-1 deficit to take a 3-2 lead.

Farbstein opened the scoring as he poked the puck off a stick and lugged the rubber up the rink, skating around the defense and firing in a forehand low-glove side to honk the goal horn.

The Riptide scored 2 goals in a :19 span late in the first period to take the lead.  After a scoreless second stanza, the Cougars were reenergized when Bolling started dishing out punishment, earning him the "Human Wrecking Ball" moniker for his team-high 6 hits.  Tanaka used his speed and tenacity to muck along the boards to keep the puck deep in the Riptide zone, and Bohac rattled in the rubber to tie the game.  Late in the game, Berkowitz lit the lamp as he laid the lumber on the puck on a 2-on-1 with Farbstein, but the Riptide converted the 5-on-3 powerplay to level the score with just 1:11 to play.  Lydon was aggressive throughout and won all 4 faceoffs he took, and the Cougars killed the remaining penalty time to preserve the tie.

Highlights were fewer and farther between in the first game, but the team earned 3 points in the 3-day Turkey Day tourney.