Cougars Come From Behind To Beat Kinnelon

Once again the Chatham Cougars ice hockey team came from a behind to win their game Saturday, beating the Kinnelon Colts 4-3.

Senior forward Jake Pyhel completed another hat trick to help propel the Cougars to victory. “It was a good game, we played hard and came back to earn a victory. Coach Cohen told us to capitalize on our chances and keep pushing and pushing,” Pyhel said. 

Kinnelon got off to a quick lead as Brian Gnad scored four minutes into the game.  Kyle Verblaau extended the lead when he received a beautiful pass from Hunter Ledwith and buried the puck behind Chatham’s goalie Jordan Boles.

The Cougars quickly cut the deficit in half when Jake Pyhel scored twice to begin the comeback for Chatham. Jake Herendeen completed the comeback with a stunning backhand shot above Kinnelon goalie Jason Braimon blocker with five minutes left in the game, bringing the score to 3-3.

With 20 seconds left in the game, Pyhel completed his second hat trick in consecutive games and sealed victory for the Cougars.

Head coach Harvey Cohen said the team worked on fixing mistakes since December when the Cougars tied the Colts 3-3. “Today we had a fatigue factor, but we overcame it," Cohen said. "The last time we played Kinnelon we tied them because we made too many mistakes in all three zones: offensive, neutral, and defensive zone. Today, we made fewer turnovers and played smarter. We fought back and capitalized with the opportunities we were given.” 

Pyhel said he was excited for the Cougars' next game against Morris Beard on Thursday. “We are looking forward to our next game," he said. "They're one of our bigger rivals, so it will be a big game for us.  We will be ready to play a complete game.”