Ice Hockey: Cougars Win First Playoff Game

Drew Sandler celebrated his 16th birthday with a strong performance against Paul VI Catholic High School on Friday, with a crowd that packed both levels of the Reston SkateQuest cheering on him and his fellow Cougars.

The Oakton goalie stopped three and four shots in succession at times and consistently performed with quick, reflexive saves. Both teams had 35 shots on goal in the game, but Oakton came out victorious with a 13-6 win to advance to the second round of the Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League playoffs.

Four Oakton players scored two goals apiece, while five others pitched in for one goal each. One couldn't look away from the ice without the risk of missing one of the Cougars' 13 goals.

“This whole team is talented, a lot of guys had multiple goals tonight in such a big game for us,” Oakton head coach John Alexa said, over the loud roar of celebratory music and families and student fans. “They played with a lot of passion tonight.”

They took a 4-1 lead in the first period and stayed ahead by three or more goals throughout the game.  Junior Joseph Cochran capped the game off by scoring a penalty shot late in the third period.

“We just wanted to come and play and get the whole team involved,” said senior Dustin Ward-Dahl, who had one goal and one assist.

Sam Buck, who recently played in the NVSHL All-Star game, had two goals and three assists, as the Cougars did a great job of getting bodies on players at the net and setting up teammates.

As for Paul VI, senior Peter Veltri had two goals and an assist, and teammate Richie Golonowski scored three goals for the Panthers.

The Cougars move on to face Broad Run High School at 7:45 p.m. Monday at the Ashburn Ice House.