Any lengthy winning streak is held together by equal parts of skill and luck.
鈥淭his is hard to do at any level of sports,鈥� said Victoria Cougars president Gary Boyer, whose club has reeled off 20 consecutive victories.
The Cougars will look to extend that streak when they host the Westshore Wolves in a Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League game tonight at 7 in the Archie Browning Sports Centre.
The Cougars haven鈥檛 been doing it with a string of dominating performances. Two of their last three games have been one-goal decisions with a 5-4 overtime win against the Peninsula Panthers and a 3-2 victory over the Nanaimo Buccaneers. Sandwiched between was a 5-0 victory over Westshore, with the Wolves (17-17-0-3) going into the rematch tonight surely relishing the thought of being the team that ends the Cougars鈥� run.
鈥淭he thing is, the league is really balanced, which makes this streak really rewarding,鈥� said Boyer. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had to work to win every game. If we don鈥檛 show up to work, we don鈥檛 win.鈥�
The roll isn鈥檛 a heavy topic of conversation in the Victoria dressing room, however.
鈥淣one of the guys even mention it. We don鈥檛 talk about it,鈥� said Cougars assistant coach Suneil Karod.
So, hush is the word in the dressing room about the streak. The Cougars prefer to do their talking on the ice. Karod said it is indicative of this group that there have been few blowouts in getting the Cougars to 30-4-1 on the season.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been in so many tight games. But good teams find ways to win,鈥� he noted.
That may prove crucial in the spring, when teams that are best in taut situations prevail in the playoffs. This is a big season for the Cougars in that regard, as they host the Cyclone Taylor Cup sa国际传媒 Junior B championship tournament April 7-10 at the Archie Browning Sports Centre.
鈥淲e鈥檙e digging down and finding ways to win,鈥� said Boyer.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to pay dividends for us in the spring.鈥�
As befitting their season to date, the Cougars have landed six players and the entire coaching staff of head coach Mark Van Helvoirt and the assistants, led by Karod, on the South team in the 2016 VIJHL all-star game to be played Sunday at 5 p.m. at The Q Centre in Colwood.
The Cougars players selected all-stars are forwards Nathan Looysen, Cody Hodges, Dom Kolbeins, defencemen Ryan Vorster, Austin Wilk and goaltender Anthony Ciurro. Looysen leads the league in scoring with 88 points, including 33 goals, with Hodges second with 82 points, 30 of which are goals, and Kolbeins fourth with 72 points, including 31 goals.
鈥淎ll four lines can play. We come at you in waves of pressure,鈥� said Karod.
The closest challengers to the Cougars are the defending sa国际传媒 and Western Canadian champion Campbell River Storm (27-6-1), who will lead the North into the VIJHL all-star game with six players selected 鈥� Gage Colpron, Alex Rosolowsky, Colin Blake, Alex Brewer, Trevor Bottomley and goaltender Matt Kostiw.
