CANORA The Canora Cobras made the trip to Langenburg on Dec. 9 and outlasted the Warriors 6-5 in a struggle where the outcome was in doubt right to the end.
The Cobras came out fast and built a 2-0 lead by the time the first period was half over, but the Warriors came roaring back and were up 4-2 by the end of the period.
“We started out playing exactly the way we wanted to,” said Cobras Coach Darren Schwartz, “but then we totally got away from our game plan and they made us pay for it.”
The Cobras battled back to tie the score in the second, but the Warriors scored to retake the lead by 5-4 after 40 minutes.
“In the third, we went back to our game plan,” said Schwartz. “We stopped them on the power play and scored a late goal which turned out to be the winner. Durban Hleboff (of Canora) had an excellent game in goal, and made some big, timely saves. It was a really good, back-and-forth game.”
Logan Foster led the Canora offense with a pair of goals, including the game winner with less than a minute left in the third period. Kody Rock of Canora added a goal and two assists.
Ryley Stefanyshyn of Canora and Skyler Hladun each contributed a goal and an assist. The other goal came off the stick of William Hauber of Canora. Troy Zulyniak and Jordan Bechtold each set up a pair of goals.
Schwartz said, after falling behind 4-2 in the first period, he gave his players “a bit of static,” and it seemed to have the desired effect. “They realized what they did wrong, corrected it, and we ended up winning the game. That was real good.”
After playing a few games together, Schwartz said the players are starting to play together more as a team “and playing the systems we want to play. We don’t usually all practice together, so it takes time.”
The win lifts the Cobras to within two points of the first-place Theodore Buffalos in the north division standings.
“We’re getting some important players back now, including Scott Mickoski, who has finished serving a two-game suspension,” said Schwartz.
Speaking of the Buffalos, the next action for the Cobras is at Theodore on Saturday (Dec. 16) against the defending league champions.
Don't count on social media to deliver your local news to you. Keep your news a touch away by bookmarking Canora Courier's homepage at this link.
Bookmark SASKTODAY.ca, Saskatchewan's home page, at this link.
