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mer · 08-31-2021, 10:42 PM

In their 3rd game of the 60th season, the Quebec City Citadelles beat the St. Louis Scarecrows 12-2. 4 goals and 2 assists came from the QCC Captain, Greyson Cooper, and the rest were spread amongst the team. In this deep dive, I'm going to look at Greyson Cooper's career in the SMJHL, and what went down during the QCC v STL game.

Captain Cooper
Greyson Cooper was drafted 3rd overall by Quebec in the S59 SMJHL draft. Cooper was the second forward created by user goilers whose first player Sophia Bennett, a S35 SHL draftee, enjoyed a long career before retirement following S54. Bennet was quickly added to the Hall of Fame, having played 899 games and scoring 344 goals and 436 assists. Accolades for Bennet included multiple All-Star teams and 2 Challenge Cups. So when Cooper arrived to the S59 draft, the player was snatched up quickly.

With goilers' experience in the league and strong Locker Room presence, Cooper was immediately elected Alternate Captain during the player's rookie season. Cooper contributed 18 goals and 12 assists to the QCC's 70 point season, where they won 35 games and placed 6th in the league. In the playoffs, Cooper scored 7 goals and 2 assists to propel QCC to the playoff semi-finals, where the team lost 4-2 to the Anchorage Armada.

The following season, SMJHL's 60th, an upgraded Cooper scored 25 goals and 24 assists. Again, QCC won 35 games, but ended their season with 78 points, and placed 4th in the league. Cooper scored 9 goals and 9 assists during the playoffs, where QCC lost in the semi-finals 0-4 to the Anchorage Armada.

At the start of season 61, Cooper was voted team captain by the QCC players, and performed very well in the pre-season with 6 goals, 5 assists in 14 games. In the LR, goilers is very active and very friendly (as is the entire QCC team), and when everyone settled down to watch and react to the first games of the season, there was excitement in the air server.

Game 1: 0-2 L VS Kelowna, Cooper 0G 0A
Game 2: 3-2 W VS Maine SOW, Cooper 0G 0A, 1 shootout goal

And then.

Game 3: 12-2 W VS St. Louis, Cooper 4G 2A

The Game
Right off the bat, Quebec and Cooper made a showing. Maybe Quebec was just warming up, maybe there was something in the air on home ice, as the previous 2 games had been away. Whatever the reason, Greyson Cooper scored 53 seconds into the game. St. Louis matched Quebec quickly, scoring at the 3:37 mark. Then Quebec again, by Samuel Kjellson at 5:35. This is when it starts to get crazy, so I'm just going to list it out:

7:52 QCC - Shane Duffy Jr.
10:24 QCC - Greyson Cooper

2nd Period

1:36 QCC - Shane Duffy Jr.
2:57 QCC - Stan Din'desque
3:40 QCC - Ryan Gardner
5:44 QCC - Greyson Cooper
16:37 QCC - Porg Garros
17:10 STL - Daniel Merica Jr.
17:58 QCC - Brady Bertrand
19:28 QCC - Joe Burrow

The 3rd period was tame by comparison, the only action at 1:55 when Cooper scored his 4th goal of the game. It wasn't the only high-point game of the night, Vancouver and Maine each winning a game with 8 goals, and Carolina won a game with 7 goals, but it was the only game to make it into the double digits.

I strongly believe that hockey is a game of momentum. Luck certainly may play a part - players have superstitions for a reason - but having a player score early really gets the ball rolling. By scoring early, Cooper set his team on the path for victory, and carried the win home with 3 goals that followed.

Cooper clearly has an excellent season ahead of him, judging by his records in S59 and S60, and his showstopping performance tonight. The skill and experience this player has cannot be overstated, and his influence on QCC is unmistakable. Although biased, I think everyone should anticipate an exciting season from QCC, with many more points to be won by their captain. If anyone would like to reach Cooper for a comment, he can be found on the Quebec ice, drowning in hats.

(697 words)

Approved! +5 TPE @mer

goilers · 09-01-2021, 12:48 PM

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