Feb 19, 2024 | Jordan bray | 161 views
Cougars Win Silver in East Gwillimbury and Aylmer
The Cougars MD1 C/D team were silver medalists in each of our recent tournaments, held in East Gwillimbury and Aylmer. The team represented Mount Brydges and area in exemplary fashion and, although they didn't reach their ultimate goal, the experience of getting to two championship finals has given us better insight on what it takes to earn the gold.
MOUNT BRYDGES - Two championship finals in two opportunities would be enough to satisfy most U9 hockey teams in Ontario, but for the MD1 C/D Cougars, coming so close to gold has only whet the appetite of this hard working group, with the expectations remain high for the remainder of the season.
In East Gwillimbury, the Cougars were undefeated in round robin play with convincing wins over the Richmond Hill Jaguars and host East Gwillimbury Eagles. In a tight game versus the Oro Thunder, the Cougars found themselves in unfamiliar territory, trailing the Thunder 4-3 with just 41 seconds remaining. With goaltender Lawson Cook on the bench in favor of an extra attacker, Bo Brosnan streaked in on the right wing to beat the Oro goaltender high on the glove side with just 11 seconds remaining. The 4-4 tie clinched 1st in the pool for Mount Brydges, with a bye to the Sunday final being the reward.
The Championship was a rematch between Mount Brydges and Richmond Hill and would prove to be a dandy. The hundreds of spectators in attendance were treated to an excellent game where the Cougars dominated possession and offensive zone time. Richmond Hill, however, would open the scoring late in the first on a broken play when tournament scoring leader Henry Lee found himself alone out front and was able to beat Cook to take a 1-0 lead. Bo Brosnan would tie the game just 47 seconds into the second period, giving the Cougars momentum. After hitting 5 posts in the game, Mount Brydges had solved the Richmond Hill goalie, but were unable to bulge the twine. Late in the third period, Richmond Hill took a 2-1 lead and, following an empty net goal, they would seal the victory and hand a heart-breaking loss to a valiant group of Cougars.
Most recently in Aylmer, the Cougars would again charge their way to a championship game in the Tier 1 division. A Friday morning loss to Belle River saw the Cougars start off 0-1, meaning there was already no room for error for the remainder of pool play. That slice of humble pie lit a fire inside every player on the team, as they rattled off consecutive victories over the Tavistock Titans and London Bandits, finishing 2nd in pool play and earning a spot in the semi-finals.
Sunday would see the Cougars face off against our Highway 81 rival, the Strathroy Rockets, in a semi-final matchup that would finish 5-2 in favor of Mount Brydges. Paxton Vaughan opened the scoring in the game, with Dante Antolini also burying, and Bo Brosnan chipping in with a hat trick. The win cemented a berth in the championship final against the host East-Elgin Attack, a team who had run the table to that point at 5 wins 0 losses, and a paltry 1 goal against.
In the last dance, the kids came out prepared and poised, but the offensive juggernaut Attack, led by tournament scoring leader Kole McKillop, jumped out to a commanding 4-0 lead through one period. The Cougars regrouped between periods, telling themselves that the score was still 0-0 and committing to the uphill challenge that faced them. For the next 30 minutes, the few-hundred fans in attendance were on the edges of their seats, as Mount Brydges answered and clawed back to make it a 5-4 game on goals by Brady Anderson, Owen Kenwell, and two from Brosnan. The Attack were in unfamiliar territory at that point, but that was as close as we would get. Two late third period goals restored a 3-goal cushion for East Elgin, making the score 7-4 at the final buzzer.
In hockey, winning a silver medal can often feel like failure, since doing so means the team lost in the gold-medal game, but this group of determined athletes has celebrated the accomplishment with gratitude, and recognized that they're doing a lot of things right to get themselves into games of such magnitude.
Up next, the Cougars will compete in the St. Thomas Boston Pizza U9 Championship, and our sights remain squarely focused on continuing to prepare for the U9 Shamrock League Championships where, as host team, we will look to draw on the experiences of playing in championships games as we seek a Shamrock League title.