After hockey practice last week, I was speaking to a fan of the league and we were discussing the parity in the Fishing Lake Hockey League. He asked me, “Who is going to win the league championship this year?”
I told him that, “This is the year of the Green, White, and Black. The Saskatchewan Party and the Saskatchewan Roughriders have already been declared the champs in their disciplines and the Canora Cobras will follow their lead in April. With arguably the league’s greatest defence led by Graham Lamb, Bryan Heshka, and Ryan Hauber, along with the expected return of Matt Lamb, the Cobras will be a tough team to score on. The league’s reigning two-time scoring champion, Todd MacMurchy, is back in form and has plenty of support from the likes of Daniel Lamb, Zack Woloshyn, and Kevin Monastyrski. It’s hard not to like the Cobras’ chances this season!”
Prior to Friday night’s game in Foam Lake, a Flyer fan noticed me and asked me who the best team in the league was this year. I told him, “Just look at the depth that this Foam Lake Flyer team has. They’ve got 4 lines and 3 players are sitting in the crowd because there’s no room on the roster. With goal scorers like Jeff Lucky, Jason Bulych, and Aaron Gervais in the lineup, as well as veteran leadership from the likes of Graham Farrell, Les Olafson, and Darren Rokochy, I fully expect to see the Flyers being crowned the league champions this season.”
During Saturday night’s game against the Theodore Buffaloes, someone remarked that the Buffs look like a pretty good hockey team. I agreed. “Theodore is the team to beat in the league this season. They’ve got 3 goaltenders capable of stealing wins for their team any night. Two of the fastest skaters in our league, Mike Chillog and Travis Goebel, pace their offence. The defence is punishing and they force you to keep your head up and stay aware all the time. There is no doubt that the Theodore Buffaloes are going to win the league this year.”
At the bar over the weekend, a Kelliher Komet fan thought that his Komets were improving, but wondered if they had enough to get to the top. I said, “Absolutely, they do. They always expect to win in Kelliher and will accept nothing less. Led by Tyler Slowski, Danny Jewitt, and Jaret Ross, the Komets show up to play every game and have become addicted to winning. My money is on the Kelliher Komets winning their third consecutive championship this spring.”
While chatting on email on Sunday night, I sent out this week’s stats package to various newspapers. One responded to me and was amazed at how close all teams seem to be and wondered who is going to be left standing after it’s all said and done. Without hesitation I replied, “The Kelvington Wheat Kings are going to be the 2007/08 champions. Whenever you go to Kelvington, you better be prepared. The fans make it an unpleasant place to play for the visitors and the Wheat Kings feed off that enthusiasm. With Ryan Mottram, Lance Holowaty, and Kyle Hope scoring goals at a record pace, it’s easy to see why the Wheat Kings are the favorites to bring home a title.”
It’s going to be that kind of a year! All 5 teams can be regarded as championship contenders. People’s opinions are likely to change over and over again all season long. Right now, every single team is capable of beating any of the other teams. Fans in all 5 towns are seeing exciting hockey games, where the outcomes are often in doubt right up until when the final buzzer sounds.
A great example of exciting hockey was on Friday night in Foam Lake. Despite only dressing 11 skaters, the Cobras still dug deep and came away with a miraculous victory. Down 5-3 with just under two minutes remaining in the game, Kevin Monastyrski and Todd MacMurchy scored to tie the game up and send it into an extra period. It took just 64 seconds for the Cobras to complete the stunning comeback when Zack Woloshyn passed the puck over to a wide open Monastyrski, who scored to give the Cobras a 6-5 victory. Monastyrski, MacMurchy, and Woloshyn each scored two goals for the Cobras.
The tanks hit empty in the third period on Saturday night, though. Hosting the Theodore Buffaloes, the Cobras again were shorthanded and watched the Buffs score 4 times in the final period, on their way to an 8-4 win. Daniel Lamb scored twice for the Cobras, while MacMurchy and Ryan Hauber scored singles.
The Cobras will hit the road for a couple of big games this weekend. On Friday night, the Cobras will once again invade Foam Lake, before heading off to Kelvington on Saturday.
By the way, if you’re looking for more predictions from me for 2008, I can tell you with certainty that the Saskatchewan Roughriders will win their second consecutive Grey Cup, the province of Saskatchewan will bring in and embrace Daylight Savings Time, and, for the fourth consecutive season, I will announce my retirement from the Cobras!
