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 3 stats vs Anaheim |
Game 3 Shots |
Game 3 Hits Given |
Game 3 Take Aways |
Tourney Penalty Minutes |
|
# | Player | ||||
3 | Kyle Tanaka | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
16 | Eliot Salazar | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
30 | Daniel Schmidt | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
37 | Shura Boz | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
44 | Ryan Bockholt | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
49 | John Bohac | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
55 | Adam Rosenduft | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
57 | Tom Beebe | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
60 | Chase Bolling | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
65 | Pace Farbstein | 4 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
82 | Nash Berkowitz | 4 | 0 | 6 | 4 |
93 | Matthew Lydon | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
97 | Erik West | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TOTAL | 25 | 15 | 44 | 18 |
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.
#  | Player | G  | A  | Pts |
49 | John Bohac | 2 | 9 | 11 |
82 | Nash Berkowitz | 8 | 2 | 10 |
65 | Pace Farbstein | 7 | 2 | 9 |
55 | Adam Rosenduft | 4 | 1 | 5 |
37 | Shura Boz | 3 | 2 | 5 |
60 | Chase Bolling | 0 | 4 | 4 |
93 | Matthew Lydon | 1 | 2 | 3 |
3 | Kyle Tanaka | 0 | 3 | 3 |
57 | Tom Beebe | 0 | 2 | 2 |
97 | Erik West | 0 | 2 | 2 |
16 | Eliot Salazar | 0 | 1 | 1 |
30 | Daniel Schmidt | 0 | 1 | 1 |
44 | Ryan Bockholt | 0 | 1 | 1 |
#  | Player | G  | A  | Pts |
49 | John Bohac | 2 | 6 | 8 |
82 | Nash Berkowitz | 5 | 2 | 7 |
65 | Pace Farbstein | 5 | 1 | 6 |
37 | Shura Boz | 3 | 2 | 5 |
55 | Adam Rosenduft | 3 | 0 | 3 |
93 | Matthew Lydon | 1 | 2 | 3 |
60 | Chase Bolling | 0 | 3 | 3 |
57 | Tom Beebe | 0 | 2 | 2 |
3 | Kyle Tanaka | 0 | 2 | 2 |
30 | Daniel Schmidt | 0 | 1 | 1 |
97 | Erik West | 0 | 1 | 1 |
44 | Ryan Bockholt | 0 | 1 | 1 |