Mario Super in Shutout Win
It was a memorable night for Mario Cavaliere as the Cougars goaltender recorded his first career OJHL shutout with a 2-0 win over the North York Rangers on Friday, October 14.
Burlington controlled the pace of play for the majority of the game before finally taking a 1-0 lead late in the 2nd period on defenseman Zac Elson’s first goal of the season. The Cougars solidified their victory when forward Philip Lagunov continued his strong early season play with an empty net goal late in the 3rd period.
With the victory, the Cougars improved to 8-4-1-0 on the season with perennial powerhouse Trenton Golden Hawks next on the schedule. Following the game, Cougars head coach Mark Jooris applauded the overall balanced play of his team.
“It was one of the most complete games we’ve played as a team. Everybody battled very hard and we had outstanding goaltending,” Jooris said.
After turning in a 15-3-0 record last season with the Powassan Voodoos of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, Cavaliere is off to a good start with the Cougars this year. The 19-year old turned aside all 20 shots he faced, improving his record to 5-4-1-1 on the season and earning considerable praise from his coach.
“It was a sign of a real professional. He had a bad game last game – he knows it – and he bounced back with an unreal performance,” Jooris said.
After boasting the league’s highest-scoring powerplay unit last season, the Cougars are once again demonstrating their strong special teams play. Burlington went 1/6 with the man advantage on Friday night, and now has 14 powerplay goals on the season.
“They’re a really good penalty killing team,” Jooris said. “They put a ton of pressure on, but we moved the puck really well and had some good looks.”
Next up, the Cougars will travel to Trenton on Wednesday for a matchup with the defending champion Golden Hawks. During their warmup, Trenton will be wearing jerseys bearing the face of Harambe, a gorilla killed at the Cincinnati Zoo earlier this year. The jerseys – worn in support of Wildlife Week – will then be auctioned off during the game, with proceeds being donated to the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada.
Wildlife Week celebrations aside, Jooris and the Cougars know that they will have to be prepared and disciplined for their matchup with the 11-2-0-0 Golden Hawks.
“Our kids know if we don’t come with our best, it’s going to be a long night. We’re going to be ready for them and we want to show that we can compete with the guys at the top. We just have to go in there and compete.”
Puck drop on Wednesday will be at 7:30pm at the Duncan McDonald Memorial Community Gardens.
It was a memorable night for Mario Cavaliere as the Cougars goaltender recorded his first career OJHL shutout with a 2-0 win over the North York Rangers on Friday, October 14.
Burlington controlled the pace of play for the majority of the game before finally taking a 1-0 lead late in the 2nd period on defenseman Zac Elson’s first goal of the season. The Cougars solidified their victory when forward Philip Lagunov continued his strong early season play with an empty net goal late in the 3rd period.
With the victory, the Cougars improved to 8-4-1-0 on the season with perennial powerhouse Trenton Golden Hawks next on the schedule. Following the game, Cougars head coach Mark Jooris applauded the overall balanced play of his team.
“It was one of the most complete games we’ve played as a team. Everybody battled very hard and we had outstanding goaltending,” Jooris said.
After turning in a 15-3-0 record last season with the Powassan Voodoos of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, Cavaliere is off to a good start with the Cougars this year. The 19-year old turned aside all 20 shots he faced, improving his record to 5-4-1-1 on the season and earning considerable praise from his coach.
“It was a sign of a real professional. He had a bad game last game – he knows it – and he bounced back with an unreal performance,” Jooris said.
After boasting the league’s highest-scoring powerplay unit last season, the Cougars are once again demonstrating their strong special teams play. Burlington went 1/6 with the man advantage on Friday night, and now has 14 powerplay goals on the season.
“They’re a really good penalty killing team,” Jooris said. “They put a ton of pressure on, but we moved the puck really well and had some good looks.”
Next up, the Cougars will travel to Trenton on Wednesday for a matchup with the defending champion Golden Hawks. During their warmup, Trenton will be wearing jerseys bearing the face of Harambe, a gorilla killed at the Cincinnati Zoo earlier this year. The jerseys – worn in support of Wildlife Week – will then be auctioned off during the game, with proceeds being donated to the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada.
Wildlife Week celebrations aside, Jooris and the Cougars know that they will have to be prepared and disciplined for their matchup with the 11-2-0-0 Golden Hawks.
“Our kids know if we don’t come with our best, it’s going to be a long night. We’re going to be ready for them and we want to show that we can compete with the guys at the top. We just have to go in there and compete.”
Puck drop on Wednesday will be at 7:30pm at the Duncan McDonald Memorial Community Gardens.
- Article by Pat Shields
