A weekend that looked to hold so much promise came and went by in the form of a nightmare for the Canora Cobras. The Cobras were ready to begin their provincial playoffs with the Carnduff Red Devils. After weeks of preparation, the Cobras had an all-star lineup ready to tangle. In the hours leading up to the game, when the Cobras should have been stretching and doing their game-day preparations, the phone calls came in and the Cobra lineup was unbelievably shrinking right before everyone’s eyes.
While the Red Devils braved cold weather, treacherous roads, and a three and a half hour bus trip, and still managed to put together a complete lineup, the Cobras were forced to go into the game under-manned with only 10 skaters. While there were a multitude of reasons of why players were unable to suit up, it was beyond astonishing to see that so many could have fallen in such a short period of time. In a series that held so much promise from the beginning, it had to be disheartening to watch it fail to live up to all the hype. The 10 skaters showed some heart, but ran out of gas early as the Red Devils left Canora with a 9-3 victory and a huge lead in the two game total goal series. Ryan Kitchen, Daniel Lamb, and Jason Bulych were the goal scorers for the Cobras, while Jeremy Hrebenik and Jared Smutt split the duties in the net.
There’s no doubt that, had the lineup that was presented on the programs actually suited up for the Cobras, the result may have been in the home team’s favor. Instead, the Cobras were facing a massive uphill climb if the provincial dream would continue.
That dream turned into an all-out nightmare on Sunday morning. Preparing to leave for Carnduff for game 2, the roster shrunk again. Due to an injury and other commitments, the lineup shrunk to only 7 skaters. The Cobras had no choice but to forfeit the game.
When you’re dealing with such a competitive sport, and you have a dressing room full of heart and resiliency, there is no worse feeling then handing a game to your opponents for free. You can punch me in the face, kick me in the groin, and break my arm, leg, or anything you want. The pain from that is far more bearable than having to quit. Unfortunately, this is the hand that was dealt for the Cobras this weekend and now we have a great big fine to pay as a result, including a likely one year suspension from participating in provincials. What hurts the most is that the guys suffering are the guys that laid it all out on the line every time the Cobras take the ice. Playing 30-plus minutes a night and risking injury is not fair to anyone who has to wake up in the morning to get to work or tend to a young family.
However, next year’s prognosis won’t take shape until this season is over. The Cobras will round out their regular season with a road trip to Theodore on Tuesday night. That game was supposed to be the final game of the Fishing Lake Hockey League season. However, the nasty weather that tortured our area on Friday night caused the cancellation of two other games. There is no word on when those games will be made up. The Cobras anxiously await the result of those games, as it will decide the Cobra opponent in round one of the playoffs. The candidates are either the Kelvington Wheat Kings or the Kelliher Komets. The playoff round is scheduled to begin on Friday February 22nd, so stay tuned!
After that's all off my chest, there's nothing left to do but look forward. Chin up everyone! Let’s finish what we started and go out with a bang! There's an empty rafter in the Canora Civic Centre that needs a league championship banner!!
