The Cougars devoured the Hawks to take the bantam title in the Campbell River Minor Hockey House League.
The Scotia Bank sponsored Bantam Division playoff finals took place on March 11, at Strathcona Gardens.
The teams had met several times during the season, with the latest tilt in the round-robin portion of the playoffs, where the Hawks had won with a last-minute goal to win by a goal.
The rivalry was reignited quickly in the championship when the Hawks’ Curtis Palmer scored just 10 seconds into the game. This was followed up by another quick marker to see the Hawks up 2-0.
Cougar goaltender Ryan Hunter settled into the game to backstop his team that was out-shot, but definitely not out-played.
Led by defencemen Chris Beech (captain), and Cole Gent, the Cougars effectively moved the puck to their forwards.
Two goals by Jacob Collins and another by Grady Kennelly, were overshadowed by the four-goal, two-assist performance of Lucas Marriot-Spencer.
Hawks’ forwards Curtis Palmer finished with two goals and Ethan Fox with three. By the end of the second the score had seen several lead changes and the Hawks were down 5-4.
The game was extremely competitive with several lead changes, and both teams playing with lots of emotion.
The referees (Derek Murray and Cole Morgan) did an exceptional job of balancing the flow of the game with the physical play that both teams brought to the third period.
Special teams played roles with short-handed and power play goals for both the Cougars and Hawks.
With the Cougars scoring four goals in the third period, and a lead of two goals for most of the third period.
The Cougars were coached this year by Burt Campbell, Troy Gent and Terry Kennelly.
