After a low-intensity first period against the Rangers on Saturday, both teams picked up the pace in the second period with a renewed sense of physicality that helped generate more scoring chances on both sides. Rangers’ forward Zach White scored the first goal of the game while being short-handed with 13:52 left to play in the period, but the Cougars were able to tie the game when Mathieu Lévesque buried a rebound with 50 seconds left on the clock.
The third period got off to a roaring start for the Rangers, as defender Aidan Bailey hit the crossbar and Nate Medaglia hit the post 30 seconds later. However, Cougars’ goaltender Frederick Durocher-Bourdon’s luck ran out when Noah Penney scored the Rangers’ second goal with 14:29 remaining in the period, assisted by Blake Byrnes. Rangers’ forward Owen Webster then managed to score from an impossible angle with 8:42 left to play, doubling his team’s lead in the process. The Cougars did manage to cut the lead down to one when forward Johnathan Campbell scored his team’s second goal, assisted by Alexander Perry and Zachary Bigras. The Cougars then pulled their goalie with 1:22 left to play, but were unable to tie the game.
Cougars and Rockets battle
After a slow start against the Rangers on Saturday, the Cougars came out swinging against the Rockets on Sunday. After merely a minute played, Nathan Sauvé beat the Rockets’ goalie on his glove side, assisted by Justin Chaumont. The Rockets came back attacking less than thirty seconds later when Cameron Cotnam snatched a rebound and scored his first goal of the night. With 7:10 left in the period, Maxim Rozon took a shot from the right side that hit a skate in front of the net and found its way behind the Rockets’ goaltender.
The Rockets upped the intensity at the beginning of the second period. Cougars’ goalie Charles Paré robbed Jarrett Ladoucer and Kyle Green on back-to-back shots during a penalty before Rockets’ forward Jeremy Cyr scored his first goal of the night, assisted by Cotnam with 13:45 to play in the second period. Cotnam then scored his second goal from the left side of the ice during a powerplay. However, the Cougars had not said their last word, and Sauvé took control of the puck behind the Rockets’ net and dished to Chaumont in front who scored his first goal of the game with 9:41 remaining in the period. But the Rockets were just getting started, and Jarrett Wiliams scored a short-handed goal on a breakaway, assisted by Kyle Green, right before Cotnam scored his third goal of the night with 5:08 left in the period, allowing his team to take the lead for the first time in the game.
The scoring fest continued into the third period. Unsatisfied with a hat-trick, Cotnam prevented the Cougars from clearing the puck out of their defensive zone and scored his fourth goal with 11:47 left. Cougars’ forward Jérémy Marcotte then scored a goal on a penalty shot, beating Nick Poole with a precise shot below the glove and cutting the Rockets’ lead down to two. Finally, Cyr scored his second goal of the night in empty net before Chaumont scored his second goal of the night off of a face-off with 1:24 remaining in a losing cause.
