Eagles Three-Peat as Cougar Cup Champs!

Article by I. Schoonderbeek/Media by C. Archer

Not many were predicting a sweep in the Orr Division final between the Clarington Eagles and the Georgina Ice. But that’s exactly what happened Tuesday evening at the Georgina Ice Palace.

Clarington jumped out to a quick two-goal lead, and starter Oliver Webster closed the door between the pipes as the Eagles soared to a 2-0 win. Clarington has now taken home the Cougar Cup, awarded to the Orr Division Champion, for three consecutive seasons.

While the Eagles were able to escape the series in just four games, it was far from a cakewalk. Both teams carried momentum at various points in each of the contests. The Ice likely feel, with good reason, that they deserved a more favorable outcome in game one. But this year’s Eagles squad has proven to be a resilient group. There is simply no quit in them. Without question, the fans were treated to four highly competitive and highly entertaining hockey games.

In game four Clarington picked right up where they left off Sunday night in Bowmanville. Off the opening faceoff, the Eagles fired the puck in deep and immediately went to the forecheck. They wasted little time forcing Georgina into a turnover before Jordan Shaw opened the scoring 36 seconds into the game from Kyle Smith with his sixth goal of the series.

The Eagles continued to press in the offensive zone leading to an early powerplay opportunity. They were held scoreless on the man-advantage but continued to exert pressure down low. Ten seconds after the penalty had expired, Hayes Bell fired a high shot from a tight angle over the shoulder of Ice starter Ryan Moore. Brock Mathieson and callup Ben Stycuk drew assists on the play. With the game less than five minutes old, Clarington found themselves sporting a two-goal lead.

The second period saw the Eagles spend significant time in the penalty box, including a full two-minute four-on-three advantage for Georgina. But the penalty kill continued to be an area of strength for the Eagles who successfully kept the Ice shooters to the perimeter of the zone. Those chances that did result in pucks directed on the Clarington net were calmly turned away or frozen by Webster.

The Ice pulled Moore in favour of an extra attacker with four minutes to play in the third period. It became a six-on-four advantage with just over two-minutes to play when an exhausted Mitch Davies accidently got his stick into the skates of an Ice attacker when trying to poke the puck off his stick. But the Eagles’ defenders once again were up to the task, preserving the shutout to the delight of the many visiting fans who made the trek to support their team.

Was it a perfect performance? No. But there was still a lot to like as far as coach Dean Baumhauer was concerned. “When you’re facing a team in an elimination game, that has the league MVP in their lineup, they’re going to play well,” said Dean. “We had a good first period and jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. We’re comfortable playing at 2-0, because we’re built from the net out. Would it have been nice to have that third goal? Sure. But the penalty killing, the shot blocking, the buy-in, the sticks in passing lanes was excellent.”

“There was a full commitment to managing the puck once we got the lead,” Baumhauer continued. “No turning pucks over. A missed shot wide or a blind high slot pass with guys like Cutler and McCullough on the ice is immediately going to go the other way. So, to keep guys like that off the board is impressive.”

Defensemen Nolan Matheson, Ryan Hall and Cole Williamson all logged big minutes with Baumhauer’s top shutdown defender Ethan Schoonderbeek out of the lineup Tuesday. “We’ve asked a lot of Nolan, and he has been outstanding,” said Dean. “It’s more than just playing big minutes…they’re high stress minutes every shift against two of the top players in the league. Every shift, they needed to be locked in, knowing a mistake or errant pass could easily turn into a quick transition goal. They did an outstanding job the whole series.”

Baumhauer credited the team effort up and down the lineup in the series win. “We won by committee. We had guys banged up and in and out of the lineup. We had an AP (Stycuk) step in and play two solid games. Brock Mathieson gets back in the lineup tonight and gives us some energy. Our best players played like our best players should. Hayes Bell and Jordan Shaw both really elevated their games to another level this series. Bell was being double shifted again, and it felt like a proud dad moment for me watching Shawsy back check the way he did tonight!”

Webster made 26 saves, picking up his fifth shutout of the playoffs. The consummate team player, he was quick to give credit to his teammates for spotting him an early lead to work with. “When the team scores early, it gives me confidence,” said Oliver with grin. “It’s always nice to get an early cushion in a big game like this.”

Those who were on hand to see the puck stopper’s performance know he was just being humble. “He was incredible,” said captain Mitch Davies. “Anything he saw he saved. Anything he didn’t see, he got in front of. From the drop of the puck, he was dialed in. It’s amazing to have that kind of confidence as a team from the net out.”

The Eagles will now go on to face the Napanee Raiders in a rematch of the 2022 Eastern Conference final. “We got rid of Georgina quickly,” said Baumhauer. “Napanee did the same to Port Hope in their series. Both teams are going to be well rested going into the next round and ready to rock n’ roll!”

Stay tuned to social media channels for round four scheduling.