Cougars Double Blazers 4-2 On Teddy Bear and Toque Toss Night

By 250 Sports

After an effort the night before Head Coach Dean Clark called embarrasing, the Cougars more than atoned on Saturday night in their annual Teddy Bear and Toque Toss game.  A number of 17-year olds highlited a full team effort, as the Cougars go into the Christmas break with a 4-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers.  The line of Taylor Makin, Jaroslav Vlach and Brock Hirsche, all 17-year olds, provided three of the Cougars four goals and 17-year old Nick Buonassisi scored the winning goal in the third period in front of 4299 fans.

The Cougars were hammered 7-2 Friday night, with Jordan DePape getting a hat-trick for the Blazers in the win, which gave Kamloops three wins in as many games with the Cougars this season.  Hudson Stremmel, who got an early exit in Friday's game, was back in net for the Cougars.  The Blazers made a change in goal, with 20-year old Kurtis Mucha tending the pipes.  The Cougars opened the scoring seven seconds into Friday's game and while they couldn't break the ice that early Saturday, they jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 14:22 mark.  Hirsche took advantage of a turn-over in the Kamloops zone and worked his way to the front of the net.  Mucha made big save on Hirsche with the left pad, but Makin followed up to slide the loose puck home for his fifth goal of the season, with Vlach crashing the crease area and getting an assist along with Hirsche.  With the goal, the fans at CN Centre littered the ice full of Teddy Bears and toques, which will go to the Salvation Army and RCMP Victim Services.  The goal was a power play goal and the only marker of the period, with the Cougars out-shooting the Blazers 9-6.

In the second period, the Cougars ran into penalty problems and the Blazers were able to get a power play goal to tie the score at one.  CJ Stretch, standing between the hash marks, tipped home a pass just beyond the out-stretched left leg of Stremmel.  The Blazers out-shot the Cougars 15-7 in the second period and the game stayed tied at a goal a piece.

In the third, the Cougars would get the lead back with Vlach pounding home his second goal of the season at 6:38.  Makin started the play behind the Blazers goal and fed a pass in front for Vlach, who was stopped on the first shot, but Hirsche helped jar the puck loose for Vlach to fire home past Mucha for a 2-1 lead.  Dallas Jackson got a helper on the goal, extending his points streak to four games.  The Blazers tied the game at two with a goal from Dalibor Bortnak on the power play at 8:29, which he fired from the point that went off the glove of Garrett Thiessen and bounced behind Stremmel.  Thiessen, though, would help get that goal back.  Alex Rodgers drove deep into the Blazers end a sent a pass back to Thiessen at the right point.  Thiessen let a shot go that Buonassisi tipped knee high past Mucha for a 3-2 Cougars lead at 12:40.  For Buonassisi, the goal is his sixth of the year and Rodgers extended his points streak to five games with the assist.  The goal would stand up as the winner, as Makin would bury his second goal of the night and third point under the cross bar from the lip of the Blazer crease, giving the Blairmore, Alberta product six goals on the year.  Vlach drew a helper, also his third point of the game and Hirsche would notch his second assist.  The Cougars would go on to a 4-2 victory, giving the Cats five straight wins on Teddy Bear and Toque Toss night.

The Cougars out-shot the Blazers 16-15 in the third, but the Blazers had a 36-32 edge in the game, giving Stremmel a 34 save night and his third win of the season.  The Cougars went 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Blazers were 2-for-5.  The Cougars record improves to 7-26-1-1 while the Blazers fall to 14-17-2-3.  The BC Division rivals square off again coming out of the Christmas break on December 27.

The Cougars next home game will see the Blazers once again on Saturday, January 2, the first game for Prince George in 2010.  The Blazers and Cougars will square off the following day for the Family Day Game, starting at 2:30.  After the game, Cougars fans will have a chance to skate with Cougars players and staff!  Family Day will give a family of four two adult and two children's game tickets, four orders of popcorn and four pops, all for $39.

Tickets are available by calling Ticketmaster at 250-564-5585.

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