Cobourg Cougars defeat Newmarket Hurricanes 7-6 for third straight win
By sports correspondent Alan Rivett
Rookie forward Garrett Jones had exactly zero concerns about signing on with the Cobourg Cougars for the current junior hockey campaign.
“(Part-owner/General Manager) Ryan Ramsey runs a great program here and he was very persuasive, so I knew it was gonna be a good fit when I first came here,” said Jones, 17, who joined the Cougars after completing last season with the Peterborough AAA Junior (U18) Petes.
The speedy forward has proven to be a productive asset thus far as part of the Cougars’ current crop of first-year players. In three regular-season games, Jones has a goal and two assists, including a helper in the Cougars’ 7-6 victory over the visiting Newmarket Hurricanes in Ontario Junior Hockey League action at the Cobourg Community Centre on Monday, Sept. 21.
The Cobourg juniors’ victory over Newmarket represented their third consecutive win so far this season, but the wheels nearly fell off for the Cougars in the third period. With Cobourg leading 6-3 in the final stanza, the Hurricanes responded with three unanswered goals to knot the score at 6-6.
It took a goal by Briir Long (assists to Cayden Smith, Isaac Larmand) with 2:36 remaining to secure the win and keep the undefeated string intact.
Jones has definitely caught the attention of Cougars’ head coach Derek Smith with his blend of speed and tenacity thus far in the young season.
“Jonesy’s somebody who’s getting better every game,” said Smith, of Jones, a resident of Fraserville. “He’s a little water bug out there, and he competes.
“He’s still getting used to junior hockey, but he’s playing hard, and he’s playing with a lot of pace.”
Jones credits the coaching staff in addition to his line mates Colton Bain and Julien Davis for a good start to the season and making his transition to junior hockey easier.
“I know my role, and the boys are great and there’s a great leadership group and great coaching, so it’s been super welcoming,” said Jones.
As for his line mates, Jones said: “They’ve been unreal – they’re veterans – so they’ve been helping me through the ways and it’s been really comforting.”
Like any rookie, Jones said he’s still adapting to junior hockey as the players are bigger and the speed of the game is also a step up from his last year of minor hockey.
“Yeah, I feel like I’ve just got to keep my feet moving. That’s the biggest thing,” said Jones. “Obviously, it’s a lot faster, more physical, so I gotta have my head up and keep skating.”
While the two points and the undefeated record to start the 2026-27 season are important, Smith said the coaching staff is aware the players’ defensive work has to catch up to their offensive prowess if their current run of success is to continue.
“Obviously, (we’re happy with) the outcome, we get two points at home, which is huge, and we scored seven goals, but we’ve got to be a more connected group, and we’ve got to find a way to, like I said, string together some positive shifts, and get the momentum back, and it comes down to the willingness to defend and play hard. It’s stuff we’re working on,” he explained.
“We show spurts of being connected, and playing good team defence, and then, you know, it gets away from us. Hockey is all about pride in winning battles and we’re going to have to do a better job with it,” he added.
Cougars’ captain Larmand led the way on the scoresheet with a four-point night (goal, three assists) against Newmarket. Other goal scorers were Jonny Brooks, Davis, Carter Petrie, Bain, Cayden Smith, and Long’s game winner. Other assists went to Alexis Boily with two, Daniel Tout, Liam Oravsky, Bain, Nole Faulkner, Long, Keegan Shirley, and Cayden Smith.
The three stars of the game for the Cougars were first star Bain, second star Larmand and third star Cayden Smith.
The Cougars are on the road to Pickering to play the Panthers on Saturday, Sept. 26. They also played in Markham against the undefeated and conference-leading Royals (7-0-0-0-0-0-0) on Sept. 24, with the result unavailable at our press deadline.
The next home game for the Cougars is against the North York Rangers on Monday, Sept. 28. The Cougars plan to honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation during the game.
At press deadline, the Cougars sat in third place in the OJHL East Conference standings with a mark of (3-0-0-0-0-0-0).
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