Clash with Vikings

The Mount Royal Cougars’ men’s hockey team entered their home-and-home series against the Augustana Vikings on a four game winning streak.

Make it five.

The Cougars visited Encana Arena on Friday and won a hard-fought road game 6-3.
Barry Horman continues to shine as he racked up four points on the night, finishing with one goal and three helpers to lead the Cougars to their fifth straight win.

The Vikings drew first blood at the ten minute mark of the first period, but Joe Vetere tied it up with a powerplay marker with just over four minutes left in the frame. Vetere finished with a two point night (1G, 1A).

Vinny Muchalla scored early in the second period, and Grant Toulmin buried his first of two goals 39 seconds later to make the game 3-1 Cougars. The Vikings would battle back in the latter half of the second, scoring a powerplay goal to pull within one.

Toulmin opened the scoring in the third, but the Vikings would make it 4-3 with just under five minutes remaining. The Cougars stayed tough and responded a minute later as Coleton Thielmann put the Cougars back up by two. Horman would pot an empty netter to seal the win.

The Cougars showed a lot of resiliency in a game that was closer than the scoreboard indicated. Justin Cote stopped 31 of 32 shots for the win, and the Cougars outshot the Vikings 34-32.

The Augustana Vikings wanted payback for taking a home loss on Friday, and on Saturday, they got it.

The Vikings came into Flames Community Arenas on Saturday and took the second game of the home-and-home from the Cougars, winning 3-1.

In a game that saw every goal scored on the powerplay, the Vikings won the battle of the special teams Saturday night despite being outshot 32-31.

Vikings goaltender David Ritz played outstanding, thwarting repeated powerplay attempts by the Cougars en route to the win.

The Vikings scored first when Daniel Hope buried a powerplay marker 14 minutes into the first period. Hope would later add an assist to cap off a five point weekend against the Cougars.

The Cougars would even the score as Barry Horman scored the lone Cougar goal on the powerplay just 3:35 into the second period. That’s all the Cougars would be able to muster as they were unable to solve the Vikings goaltender for the remainder of the game.

Dan Spence got the start in net for the Cougars and stopped 28 of 31 shots in a losing effort. The Cougars pulled Spence with 1:40 remaining to send out the extra attacker, but would ultimately fall short. The Cougars move to 8-2-0-2 on the season.

The Cougars will play just one game this week on Friday as they take on the SAIT Trojans. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. at Flames Community Arenas.