The Burlington Cougars have clinched a playoff spot following a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Jr. Canadiens on Saturday night. The win, combined with a Georgetown Raiders loss, has guaranteed the Cougars a playoff berth with seeding to still be determined.

“We’re very excited. We’re here to make the playoffs and we’re playing really well right now and are on a bit of a roll,” head coach Mark Jooris said following the win. “The kids are buying in. They want to be something special, get into the playoffs and make it a long one.”

After a scoreless first period with both goalies standing their ground, the Canadiens opened the scoring just over 7 minutes into the second period. The Cougars would answer quickly though, with special teams doing the heavy lifting.

Clark Hiebert tied the game with a poweryplay goal, his 3rd tally of the season. Just over 3 minutes later, the captain Noah Doyle added a power play marker of his own giving the Cougars a 2-1 lead.

“It’s a privilege to be on the powerplay; it’s not a right,” Jooris explained. “You’ve got to get out there and work hard. It’s starting to click a little bit and you need that in the playoffs.”

In the final frame with the playoffs in their sights, the Cougars locked the game down thanks to stellar goaltending and a couple of insurance markers.

Burlington backstop Daniel Davidson, making his 6th start in a Cougars uniform, stopped 29 of 30 shots to improve his record to 5-0-1-1.

With time winding down in the 3rd period, Evan Benwell finished off a nice 2-on-1 passing play to extend the lead to two goals. Less than two minutes later, Max Lightfoot put the game on ice with his 9th goal of the season.

Matthew Steen led the way for Burlington with 3 assists in the game, while Clark Hiebert finished with two points of his own.



Looking ahead, the Cougars will head to Oakville for a Family Day matchup on Monday. Admission for the latest instalment of the Battle of Burloak will be free at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. Puck drop is set for 1:30pm, with the Blades’ graduating players ceremony set to take place first.

- Written by Pat Shields