The Vankleek Hill Cougars (15-10-0-0) capped a solid weekend with a 3-0 shutout of the Cumberland Castors (10-11-2-0) on Saturday evening (January 6) in front of their home fans at the Vankleek Hill Community Centre.

Cougars netminder Brayden Prevost earned the shutout, in his first game back since being injured in early December. Maxime Laliberte and Bruno Laframboise scored single goals for Vankleek Hill, while Connor Stewart – acquired from Cumberland in a trade earlier in the week – scored on a penalty shot against his former team.

Saturday’s win followed a 3-1 Friday night (January 5) loss to the National Capital Junior Hockey League’s (NCJHL) top team, the Gatineau-Hull Volant (23-2-0-0). Blown out by the Volant in their previous contests this season, the Cougars were solid on this night, taking a 1-0 lead on a goal by team captain Joshua Desjardins into the third period, before Gatineau-Hull scored on a power play early in the frame to tie the game up 1-1. The Volant scored again midway through the frame to take a 2-1 lead, before sealing the victory with a late empty-net goal.

“It was a great overall effort from everybody – we had great goaltending in that game,” said Cougars head coach Nicolas Pharand, who was very pleased with his team’s performance, despite the loss. “It was our best effort against (the Volant) for sure.”

Rookie netminder Tristan Paquette took the loss, despite playing a solid game in net for Vankleek Hill.

“Tristan was great in net on Friday and Brayden was excellent (on Saturday),” noted Pharand, who is happy to have two healthy goaltenders back.

Also back last weekend was Desjardins, who had been out for more than a month, but did not miss a step, scoring against the Volant in his first game back.

The weekend split leaves Vankleek Hill with 30 points and solidly in third place in the NCJHL – three points behind the second place Morrisburg Lions (16-9-1-0), who have played one more game. The St-Isidore Eagles sit in third place with 27 points, but were scheduled to play the Castors on Sunday evening, with a chance to close to within one point of Vankleek Hill.

After struggling with injuries in December, Pharand says the team is almost back to full strength.

“The majority of guys are back and that’s going to help, because we were playing shorthanded a lot of the time – there were days where we were having trouble putting three lines together,” the Cougars’ head coach said.

Cougars make trades to upgrade roster

The Cougars made two trades last week to upgrade their roster, including bringing back overage defenseman Christophe Quann, who was acquired from Cumberland.

Quann played 30 games for Vankleek Hill during the 2019-2020 season and eight last year. The L’Orignal native has played in 18 games for the Castors this season, recording one goal and nine assists for 10 points. He played in both of the Cougars’ games last weekend.

Also acquired from Cumberland last week was 19-year-old forward Connor Stewart, who scored against his former team on Sunday in his second game with Vankleek Hill. The Cougars sent former team captain Mikael Bissonnette to the Castors in return for Stewart.

Upcoming games

The Vankleek Hill Cougars are on the road for both of their games next weekend, beginning with a contest on Saturday, January 13, in Almonte against the Inferno (5-18-0-1).

For local fans though, the big matchup next weekend will be the first of three straight games the Cougars are scheduled to play against their closest rivals, the St-Isidore Eagles, who are chasing Vankleek Hill for third place in the NCJHL standings. That three-game set will kick off next Sunday (January 14), when Vankleek Hill travels the short distance to St-Isidore to face the Eagles in a 7:30 p.m. start.

The two teams will meet up again at the Vankleek Hill Arena on Saturday, January 20, before closing out the series in St-Isidore on Sunday, January 21. Face off for both of those games is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Vankleek Hill Cougars vs. Cumberland Castors – Photos by Sylvain Lauwers

Brayden Prevost (33) was solid in the Vankleek Hill net against the Cumberland Castors on Saturday (January 6), posting a shutout in his first game back after being out for more than a month with an injury. Photo: Sylvain Lauwers

Acquired in a trade with Cumberland last week, forward Connor Stewart (10) scored on a penalty shot against his former team. Photo: Sylvain Lauwers

Defenceman Christophe Quann (25) was reacquired by the Cougars in a trade with Cumberland last week and played a solid game against his former team on Saturday (January 6). Photo: Sylvain Lauwers

Cougars forward Malcolm Seguin (4) fires a shot on net in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Cumberland. Photo: Sylvain Lauwers