After being cancelled in 2021 during the pandemic, Canora Minor Hockey Day returned on January 29 with a full day of five games in age groups ranging from U7 to U15. Canora Minor Hockey Association president Dwayne Wolkowski reported that the day went well, and “there were no COVID-related cancellations,” which is a significant worry for hockey organizers across the region.
Wolkowski said there was only one significant injury during the day, a broken collarbone, but unfortunately those things happen in hockey
The U7 Canora Cobras started the day off with a contest against the Yorkton Ice Caps. In this age group, the teams play on a third of the regulation ice surface with a barrier in place across the blue line, and the two nets are set up on each side near the side boards next to the faceoff dots. They play straight time, and the whistle goes every three minutes for a complete line change for both teams. In this age group the score is not kept, with the focus on learning the game and having fun.
The U11 Canora Cobras hosted Yorkton in a game which featured plenty of offence. The Cobras trailed by scores of 5 to 2 and 11 to 4 after the first two periods. But the Canora players continued to battle and played probably their best period in the third, resulting in a 13 to 6 Yorkton victory.
Next on the schedule was a contest between the U13 Canora Cobras and the visitors from Langenburg. The Canora players played hard at both ends of the ice throughout the game, but unfortunately came out on the short end of a 15 to 3 score.
The U15 game pitted Melville against the Highway 9 Predators, a new team this year made up players from Canora and Preeceville. The Predators have started the season with good success on the ice, and continued their winning ways with a 6 to 1 decision over Melville. The first period made the difference in this contest, as the Preds jumped out to a 3 to 0 lead by the first intermission, and added to the lead as the game went on.
The Prairie Ice Female U15A team, made up of players from Canora, Kamsack, Preeceville and numerous other area communities, played host to the Estevan Southland Pulse Bearcats in what turned out to be the most suspenseful game of the day. The Ice scored the first goal of the game and it looked like it might be an offensive shootout, but that was it for goals, and the final score was 1 to 0. Even though there was only one goal, each team had numerous chances to find the back of the net but came up empty. Prairie Ice goalie Brooke Taylor of Kamsack made a number of important saves, and was full value for the shutout.
