The Fishing Lake Hockey League continues to roll along and the competition is as good as it could possibly get. The Canora Cobras were involved in two exciting games this past weekend.
On Friday night, the Cobras met up with the Foam Lake Flyers for the fifth and final time this season. The Cobras pounced on the opportunity when the Flyers’ top scorer, Jeff Lucky, was forced to leave the game early in the first period with an injury. Todd MacMurchy scored three times in leading the Cobras to a 7-5 victory. Daniel Lamb added two goals, while Matt Lubiniecki and Kevin Monastyrski scored singles. Jeremy Hrebenik made 22 saves in picking up the victory in the Cobra goal.
The game ended with some fireworks. With just seconds remaining in the game, Daniel Lamb attempted one more rush up the ice. Lamb crashed into the goaltender and all players on the ice joined in the melee. Emerging from the crowd, Ries Mansuy picked his partner and the reigning "Most Gentlemanly Player" was engaged in a fight with Korby Koshman. Former Cobra Charlie Keshane, now of the Flyers, seemed to have gotten the better of Lamb, but both were assessed fighting majors. Lamb picked up an additional major for charging the goaltender.
The Cobras traveled to Kelvington on Saturday night, already without several players. Upon their arrival, the team was notified that Lamb was ineligible for the game, due to his double game misconduct assessed the previous night. The skeleton squad that formed the Cobras fell 4-3 to the Wheat Kings.
Ries Mansuy, Graham Lamb, and Bryan Heshka scored for the Cobras. Jared Smutt took the loss, his first of the season, in the Cobra net.
The Cobras sit in second spot in the league, just one point behind the first place Theodore Buffaloes. The team has the weekend off, as they allow bumps and bruises to mend. The next action will not be until January 25, when the Kelvington Wheat Kings come to town at 8:30.
For the fourth consecutive season, the Cobras are entering the SHA Senior Provincial Playoffs. However, for the first time, the Cobras do not have to enter the A division. Due to the population centers that the Cobras are using this season, the team will be in the B division. In the first round, the Cobras have drawn the Carnduff Red Devils in a two game total goal series. The first round must be completed by February 18th, so stay tuned as the schedule is expected to be released shortly. The Cobras have added Jeff Lucky, Jason Bulych, Graham Farrell, and Aaron Gervais, all of the Foam Lake Flyers, to their provincial roster.
