After an entertaining inaugural season, which saw them start low in the standing and claw their way to become serious contenders, the Squamish Cougars were eliminated from the WHA playoffs by the New Westminster Whalers.
As we have come to expect in the WHA, the playoffs had more twists and turns off the ice than on. The Bellingham Bulls were originally scheduled to play Squamish on Friday night, but injuries had decimated their team to nine players and the Bulls decided to withdraw from the playoffs.
The decision was then made to have the Cougars and Whalers play a best-of-three series. Since the Whalers won the first game 5-3 the previous Friday (Feb. 9), the Cougars were facing elimination when the puck dropped last Friday night.
The Cats came out hard against the Whalers determined not to let the 500-plus fans down again.
As it happened in game one, the Whalers scored first when Nigel Smith deflected a pass over the glove of Cougar keeper, Graham Hallenbeck. The Cats put the goal behind them as they continued to take the play to the Whalers. Later in the first they were rewarded with a goal from Sinclair Kim who had replaced Ross Pattison on the first line. Spencer Samson and Nils Hanfstingl picked up the assists.
The second period saw more Cougar pressure as Whalers netminder Jonathan Hull had to be sharp. Sinclair Kim's wrist shot proved to be lethal again as he beat Hull on the stick side. Hanfstingl and Cole Nelson got the helpers. Spencer Samson turned the red light on and gave the Cougars a 3-1 lead at the end of the period.
The fans became concerned when the Whalers got a goal from Tobias Kathan to make it 3-2. Unlike their previous two playoff games the Cougars did not have a third-period meltdown. They closed ranks around Hallenbeck and kept the Whalers to the perimeter. All that hard work was rewarded when Nelson got his first goal of the season as his low shot completely fooled Hull. That ended the scoring and the Cougars forced a final showdown with a 4-2 victory.
On Sunday (Feb. 18), the atmosphere at Queen's Park Arena in New Westminster was tense and electric for the return game. The Cougars came out flying and had many chances to score on Hull.
Despite the Whalers reeling, the Cats were unable to slip one pass the Whalers' goalie. AA defensive breakdown that allowed the Whalers to have three shots at Hallenbeck, the third going in, gave the Whalers a 1-0 lead to end the first.
The second period is where the Whalers won the game. A quick goal that gave the Whalers seem to rattle the Cougars putting them on their heels. Sensing their foes were confused, the Whalers scored two more to build an insurmountable 4-0 lead. Hanfstingl cut into the Whaler lead before the buzzer sounded. The Cougars regained their composure in the third and dominated the play. Hanfstingl scored his second of the game with a shot that over powered Hull. With four minutes to go the Cougars took a very untimely penalty. The Cougars continued to press while shorthanded but a very questionable call with two and a half minutes to go put them down two men. Coach Matt Samson pulled Hallenbeck in favour of an extra attacker when the first penalty expired but it was not enough, the Whalers won the game 4-2 and the series.
