Cougars slay Dragons in thriller

Over 300 fans packed Hoffman Estates Ice Arena on Saturday to watch the Conant/Hoffman Estates/Schaumburg Cougars defeat the Pekin Dragons 3-2 in the first round of the Blackhawk Cup.

"This was the loudest I had ever heard that arena," said Cougars coach John Conenna said. "It was incredible."

The Cougars struck early when sophomore forward Ryan Colby scored three minutes into the first period for a 1-0 lead. Sophomore forward Kyle Cornier scored just two minutes after Colby for a 2-0 lead.

"I told them that there was still a lot of hockey left." Conenna said. "I told them to not take anything for granted."

In the second period, the Dragons scored twice to tie the game 2-2.

"I took them into the locker room and told them there is no tomorrow," Conenna said. "If we lose this game, our season is over."

In the third period, Cougars senior forward Tim Shannon broke away from the defense, but he was denied by a great save.

"After Tim was stopped on the breakaway, I just told him to keep shooting because he'd get another chance," Conenna said.

Conenna was right. Shannon got another shot with about two minutes left in the third period, and this time he capitalized to put the Cougars ahead 3-2.

"When that buzzer rang, you'd have thought we had won the Stanley Cup." Conenna said. "All the players, including myself, were mobbed as we came off the ice."

Conenna said the performance of Cougars senior all-star goalie Danny McKenzie (29 saves) helped win the game.

"He made saves that reminded me of Tony Esposito back at Chicago Stadium," Conenna said. "I still don't know how he made some of those saves."

With the win, the Cougars advanced to the Sweet 16, where they will play Lincoln-Way Central at Hoffman Estates Ice Arena on Feb. 20th.

"We just have to lock down on defense and I think we can win the game," Conenna said.

In the Founders Cup playoffs, Conant/Hoffman Estates/Schaumburg tied Carmel 1-1 on Feb. 4. The Cougars will clinch a second seed if Mundelein beats Carmel this weekend.

PREP: First-year coach Mike Barbaglia has the Prospect/Rolling Meadows/Elk Grove/Palatine team playing pretty well this season, even though PREP is 0-2-1 in the Scholastic Cup.

"We've played strong in all three games," Barbaglia said. "We've had no problems this year."

PREP's most impressive performance was a 1-1 tie against league powerhouse Rockford last month. PREP killed a 5-on-3 power play late in the game to preserve the deadlock.

"I think we caught them by surprise." Barbaglia said. "But our guys went out and just played some great hockey."

PREP plays Rockford again this Sunday at 2 p.m. at West Meadows Ice Arena.

"We can't let up," Barbaglia said. "We have to play good defense and play as hard as we can for three periods."

Fremd: First-year coach Russ Fitton's Fremd Vikings are 2-0-1 in the Metro playoffs heading into their game against Buffalo Grove/Hersey/Wheeling (BGHW).

After beating PREP and CHS, Fremd lost to Rockford 2-1.

But even with the loss, Fitton is still pleased.

"Our defense and goaltending has been outstanding this year." Fitton said. "We don't score a lot of goals, so our defense and our goaltending have to play well."

Fremd will play BGHW on Sunday at West Meadows at 4 p.m. The winner plays Rockford on Feb. 18 at Hoffman Estates Ice Arena.

BGHW: Last Wednesday, BGHW beat PREP 4-2 in its third Scholastic Cup game.

"It was back and forth all game," said BGHW coach Bob Wagner. "My guys played great."

With the game tied 2-2, BGHW junior defenseman Alex Groupe found sophomore forward Cody Barra in the middle of the rink. Barra skated in with a defender at his side and scored to give BGHW a 3-2 lead. Groupe added an empty-net goal late in the third period to seal the win.