Cougars Surprise Spartans With 4-1 Playoff Win

For the third straight game, the Oakton Cougars gave up the first goal of the game, but did not let it keep them from victory. Instead the No. 6 Cougars pulled off a surprise 4-1 win over No. 3 Broad Run High School in the second round of the playoffs at the Ashburn Ice House.

“It was a big win biggest win that I’ve been a part of with this team,” Cougars’ head coach John Alexa said after the game. “It was well deserved. They earned every bit of it. We're enjoying it tonight and tomorrow it's back to business. There’s still more games to be played.”

The Oakton cheering section, with help from the Cougar mascot, showed in great fashion, again filling the seats on a cold and rainy night an hour away from their homes.

The game was back and forth all night, as both teams fought hard looking to move on to the next round of the NVSHL postseason. But the biggest play of the night came early in the third period when the Cougars stopped Broad Run from scoring on a five-on-three power play.

“That was the biggest play of the game for us right there,” Alexa said. “We really took control of the momentum of the game and showed how much we wanted to win.”

The Cougars outshot Broad Run 30-27, and also had two more penalties than the Spartans as they finished with eight to Broad Run's six.

Sam Buck continued his scoring streak for the Cougars, scoring the final goal of the game on an empty netter. Buck also had an assist in the game, and goalie Drew Sandler followed up his great opening round playoff game with another stellar performance.

With the victory, the Cougars move on to face No. 1 Stone Bridge High School at the Ashburn Ice House at 6 p.m. Wednesday night in the semifinals of the NVSHL playoffs.