Approximately 600 people packed Brennan Park on Friday (Sept. 22) to watch the WHA Squamish Cougars take on the Armstrong Sharks, and while the underwater predators proved too fierce for the cats this time, the local team scored big points with the fans.
The Cougars lost the game 6-3 but the excitement and pace of the game had the standing-room-only-crowd on the edge of their seats. Cougar's coach Matt Samson also thought his team put on a good show.
"I was happy with the efforts from the guys," he said. "Next week [when the Cougars meet the Sharks again] we are going to come out and hopefully get our first win at home."
Samson also said the large, local crowd helped the team.
"We fed off their energy, it really got us pumped," he said. "I was really happy to see the fans come out. I hope they keep coming and we can put on a good show for them."
The first goal in Cougar history came 18 minutes into play, at the hands of centre Jeff Brown. The goal was assisted by rightwinger Troy McLean and came at a strategic point in the game.
"Troy came over the blue line and went to the outside," said Samson. "He made a really nice pass, sliding the puck across to Jeff who put it into the open net."
However, the Cougar's lead was short lived and the Sharks equalized with their first goal three minutes into the second period. Several minutes later, in what Samson describes as a momentum shifter, Cougar's left winger Spencer Samson had a goal disallowed.
"We were pretty upset about that," he said. "The linesman called the play offside but no one heard because of the crowd cheering."
Relentless pressure from the Sharks resulted in a go-ahead goal just before the end of the second period.
At the beginning of the third period the Cougars equalized through the efforts of leftwing Bobby Leetch. "This was a really great individual effort from Bobby," said Samson. "He made a really nice move to flip the puck over the [Shark] defenceman's stick to put it past the goalie."
The Sharks then came on strong with two goals before the Cougars began to claw back in the second half of the third one of their own from centre Patrick Wiebe.
"The third goal was similar to the first. [Defenceman] Ross Pattison made a move on the defenceman and slid the puck to Patrick," said Samson. "Patty then had an open net and slid it in."
Unfortunately, this was the last goal for the local side and was followed by two more goals from the Sharks to settle the final score.
Samson believes his team played well but has things to work on.
"They had 51 shots on us, which is unacceptable. We also need to limit the turnover in our own end," he said. "The second period we were passing, we moved the puck well and had some good scoring chances."
The Sharks played one game prior to meeting the Cougars and Samson said it gave the visiting team an advantage, but he also said his team is eager for a rematch.
"Now we know their strengths and weaknesses and have a chance to match lines," he said. "We are hoping to come out this time and take advantage of that [information]."
Local Kyle Ritchie was added to the Cougar roster last week joining fellow Squamish residents, Nick Johnston, Cole Nelson, Alex Wilkes, Kyle Marquette, Ennis and Pattison.
The Cougars face the Sharks again tonight (Sept.29) at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for children and seniors.
The Cougars are still looking for families to billet players and anyone interested is asked to call Colleen Baldwin at 604-892-4039.
