The Vankleek Hill Cougars opened their 2024-2025 National Capital Junior Hockey League (NCJHL) season with a pair of shutouts last weekend, although only one of them was in their favour.
Vankleek Hill kicked off the season with a bang at home on Saturday evening (September 21), earning a 5-0 shutout of the St-Isidore Eagles. But on Sunday, the Cougars were themselves shut out, in a 4-0 road loss to the defending NCJHL champions, the Gatineau-Hull Volant.
Despite Sunday’s loss, Cougars Head Coach Ryan Allen was pleased with the efforts put forth by the players.
“For an opening weekend, I was pretty happy,” said Allen, who is in his first season behind the Vankleek Hill bench. “Sunday didn’t go as planned, but it was a good game and a hard-fought battle.”
“If you look at the grand scheme of things there were a lot of positives in what the season might hold for us.”
The team’s rookie head coach said he is happy with the makeup of the current team, noting a solid base of local talent was a main objective. Vankleek Hill has several young local players and has also added 21-year-old Vankleek Hill native Sebastien Ouimet to this year’s squad. Ouimet played Junior B the previous two seasons with the Casselman Vikings, scoring 18 goals and adding 24 assists during the 2023-2024 campaign.
Saturday, September 21 – Vankleek Hill Cougars 5, St-Isidore Eagles 0
The Cougars delighted their hometown fans on Saturday evening (September 21) at the Vankleek Hill Community Centre with a 5-0 shutout behind solid goaltending by Mael Gendron, to earn a season-opening win over their closest rivals the St-Isidore Eagles. Vankleek Hill led 1-0 after the first, before pouring it on with three goals in the second period and adding a fifth in the third frame.
Assistant Captain Sebastian Ouimet opened the 2024-2025 NCJHL season’s scoring for Vankleek Hill, at 4:25 of the first period, with assists from Jacob Crete and Mael Gendron. Crete scored himself at 8:48 of the second stanza to stake the Cougars to a 2-0 lead. Cougars Captain Andy Lightle-Blais notched the first of his two goals of the night less than a minute later. Garrett Cunning closed out the frame with just over two minutes left to send Vankleek Hill into the third with a 4-0 lead.
Lightle-Blais scored his second of the contest in the third to cap the 5-0 Cougars win in their season opener. Reid Cunning had two assists for the Cougars.
Sunday, September 22 – Vankleek Hill Cougars 0, Gatineau-Hull Volant 4
The Gatineau-Hull Volant scored three powerplay goals, en route to a 4-0 shutout of Vankleek Hill at Centre Slush Puppie on Sunday, September 23.
Mael Gendron, coming off a shutout of St-Isidore the previous night, took the loss in goal for the Cougars.
Allen excited to join Cougars as head coach
First-year Cougars head coach Ryan Allen feels right at home behind the bench of his former team.
A Vankleek Hill native, the 27-year-old Allen played for the Cougars from 2013 to 2019, recording 26 goals and 20 assists during the Cougars NCJHL Championship run in the 2018-2019 season.
“I always knew this was what I wanted to do eventually – get back into the game,” said Allen, who reached out to the Cougars after moving back to Vankleek Hill from Ottawa, where he resided for several years.
When the team’s owners asked him about coaching the team for the 2024-2025 NCJHL season, Allen jumped at the opportunity.
“Without hesitation, I said ‘I’m in’.”
Upcoming games
The Cougars will host the Cumberland Castors this Saturday, September 28, at the Vankleek Hill Community Centre. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
On Saturday, October 5, Vankleek Hill will be at home to the St-Isidore Eagles, with puck drop taking place at 7:30 p.m. at the Community Centre. The following day, Sunday, October 6, the Cougars will host the South Grenville Rangers in an afternoon game scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.
