CANORA - The Canora Cobras played host to the Wapella Hawks on Dec. 2, and led pretty much from start to finish in an impressive 7-3 victory.
“The boys played very well, pretty much a 60-minute game,” said Coach Darren Schwartz. “It was nice to see.”
By the time the first period was half over, the Cobras had built a 3-0 lead. The visitors managed a goal late in the period, but the Cobras came up with a strong three-goal response in the second period for a 6-1 cushion after 40 minutes.
“In the past, we’ve sometimes fallen asleep in the second period, but we didn’t do that this time,” said Schwartz. “We really played a complete game.”
Part of that strong effort came on a penalty killing sequence in the second period where the Cobras were two men short for a total of a minute and 27 seconds.
“That was great to see. Austin Severson and Vaughn Wilgosh blocked some shots and Rylan Palchewich made some big saves in net,” said Schwartz. “That was an important time in the game. If they scored on both those penalties, they are right back in the game. But we killed those penalties off and that’s great, that’s what we’ve got to do.”
The sequence ended when Vaughn Wilgosh, after the last of many shot blocks, went in on a breakaway and scored just before the end of the first penalty.
“The crowd was a big help, I don’t know of anyone in the league who has better fans than we do,” said Schwartz. “During that 5-on-3 penalty kill, they kept cheering louder and louder. That gets the guys pumped up, and they work even harder.”
The Hawks came back with a pair of third-period goals, but the final result was never really in doubt in the 7-3 Cobras win. The Cobras were full value for the victory, pumping 53 shots at the Wapella net, to only 23 for the visitors.
Tanner Kopeck of Canora led the Cobras offense with two first-period goals, and also added an assist. Unfortunately, he received an upper body injury in the second period. Schwartz said he decided to keep Kopeck out of the rest of the for game precautionary reasons since the Cobras were well ahead at the time and “we need him for the games we have coming up.”
In addition to his shorthanded goal, Vaughn Wilgosh also added an assist. Other Cobras goal scorers were William Hauber of Canora, Skyler Hladun, Jordan Bechtold and Logan Foster, who also chipped in with an assist. Ryley Stefanyshyn was the top playmaker with a pair of helpers.
The Cobras failed to score on their four power play chances; a statistic that Schwartz said will need to change for them to be successful as the season continues.
“You’re going to need to get a power play goal or two in order to win games at some point,” he said. “We need to work hard, can’t take a break. Our guys were making nice passes on the power play against Wapella, but now they need to focus on taking good shots and getting some goals.”
The Cobras won’t be playing in front of the home fans again until Dec. 22, when the archrival Preeceville Pats come to town.
Canora’s next two games are on the road: Dec. 9 at Langenburg and Dec. 16 in Theodore against the Buffalos.
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