Hounds withstand Cougars’ comeback to win Western Regional

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This article was published 01/05/2022 (1404 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VIRDEN – A previously boisterous Tundra Oil and Gas Place turned silent throughout most of the stands and joyful amongst a small section of supporters in a matter of moments.

With 17.2 seconds left in the third period, forward Andrew Altwasser banged home a loose puck at the side of the net to give the Hounds the lead and an eventual 4-3 win over the host Cougars in the final game of the 2022 Telus Cup Western Regional, and a berth in this month’s under-18 AAA national championships in Okotoks, Alta.

The late goal was a massive gut punch for the Cougars, who clawed their way back from an early 3-0 hole and tied up the contest on a Luke MacKenzie goal with 3:17 to go.

“I feel bad for the guys that we couldn’t have gotten the game into overtime with how well we were playing at the end, but those things happen sometimes,” Cougars head coach Troy Leslie said.

“We’re extremely proud though of how hard these guys competed all weekend and how they fought their way back in the final. This was a group that hadn’t played a game in over a month (after losing in the first round of the Manitoba AAA U18 Hockey League playoffs to the Brandon Wheat Kings) but they worked hard in practice leading up to this and they did an amazing job through the entire tournament.”

Despite being outshot heavily by the Hounds – who held a 56-19 advantage at the end of the game – and being down by three goals after 22 minutes of play, the Cougars never gave up.

A goal by Brett Laing with 5.8 seconds left in the second period, which came off of a nice rush from Kelowna Rockets draft pick Luke MacKenzie, gave them the spark that they needed.

“We were ecstatic when we went into the dressing room,” Cougars captain Jayce Thompson said. “We knew that we had a chance to come back.

“We could have packed the tent in after they made it 3-0 but we just kept pushing. There’s such a positive attitude with this group of guys and we kept that up through the third period.”

Dawson Andries got the Cougars within one by converting a feed from Ashton Cuvelier at the 6:15 mark of the third period.

MacKenzie, who had hit a post near the midway point of the third, sent the Cougars fans into a frenzy on the game-tying goals as he fired a shot past Hounds netminder Wilson Maxfield after receiving a great pass from graduating defenceman Garrett MacDonald.

The Hounds responded after seeing their lead disappear as they controlled the play through the final three minutes.

Altwasser, who had generated several chances throughout the afternoon with linemates Kaden MacLean and Keagan Merriman, ended up being at the right place at the right time to score the biggest goal of his hockey career.

“I had curled up through the middle off of the draw and when (Hounds defenceman Bryan) Fenlon took a point shot, I noticed that he had fanned on it slightly,” Altwasser said. “I’m not sure if it deflected off someone or what happened, but all of a sudden it was right next to my stick and I just slapped away at the puck.

“When Southwest tied it up, our coach (Del Petrick) told us to take a few deep breaths and get back to what we did in the first part of the game. We were able to regroup quickly and I think that made a huge difference at the end of the third.”

Owen Thomas led the way for the 4-0 Hounds with two goals, with fellow blue-liner Fenlon dishing out a pair of helpers.

Ethan Look also scored for the Wilcox, Sask. based prep program, while Maxfield turned aside 16 shots.

MacKenzie had a goal and an assist for the 1-2-1 Cougars in the loss, which saw LaRocque conclude an excellent tournament with a 52-save performance.

The Cougars reached the final as a result of their 3-0 win over the Manitoba AAA Under-18 Hockey League champion Winnipeg Wild on Saturday afternoon.

Needing a regulation triumph in their last round-robin game to keep their tournament hopes alive, the hosts put together a performance that LaRocque said was their best of the entire year.

“It was a full 60-minute and everyone did their job,” LaRocque added. “We got pucks deep, finished our checks and took away the middle of the ice.”

“We came into this week as the underdogs, especially after finishing eighth in our league,” Cougars captain Jayce Thompson added. “We laid everything on the line here against the Wild and we got the job done.”

This marked the second time that the Wild had been shut out all season, as they dropped a 4-0 decision to the Eastman Selects on January 12 in Beausejour.

They were also held off the scoresheet through 65 minutes in a game with the Cougars on January 23 in Winnipeg, but they ended up coming away with a 1-0 shootout triumph.

“I have to give Southwest a ton of credit,” Wild head coach Paul Krueger said. “They did a great job of collapsing the middle, blocking a ton of shots and not giving us a lot of second opportunities.

“They did an amazing job of handling our offence, which has had a ton of firepower all season.”

The 1-2 Wild, who ended up third in the final tournament standings as a result of their round-robin win over the 1-2 Thunder Bay Kings Friday.

Thunder Bay’s quest to reach the final ended Saturday with an 8-3 loss to the Hounds.

“If you think of everything these kids have gone through over the last couple of years (with the COVID-19 pandemic) and having to play great distance to play competitive hockey, I can’t say enough about what these kids have accomplished,” Kings head coach Jeff Ricciardi said.

“From being able to make the playoffs in the GTHL (Greater Toronto Hockey League) to competing against the top teams from Manitoba and Saskatchewan this week, we’re really proud of what the boys have done over the last few months.”

ICINGS: Hounds captain Ishan Mittoo-Kulbe earned the tournament’s most valuable player award after scoring four goals and earning an assist in round-robin play. He was joined on the all-star team by Look and Logan Belton of the Wild at forward, Thomas and Josh Fluker of the Cougars on the blue-line and LaRocque in goal.

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