CANORA - In a tightly contested SEHL best-of-five semifinal series, the Theodore Buffalos staved off elimination with a gritty 4-3 win in Canora on Feb. 7, only to have the Cobras bounce back with a series-clinching 8-4 victory in Theodore the following evening.
Game 3
With the Cobras holding a 2-0 series lead heading into Game 3 in Canora, and the home team out in front 2-1 heading into the second period, things were looking grim for the visitors. But three second period goals, including a shorthanded marker and one in the last minute of the period were enough to give the visitors a one-goal win and prolong the series to Game 4.
“We weren’t ready to play in Game 3,” said Cobras Coach Darren Schwartz. “We weren’t moving our feet and we weren’t hitting. Theodore basically played our game, they out-hit and out-chanced us, they played well.”
An early Cobras power play goal in the third period closed the gap to 4-3 and game hope to the near sellout crowd of 431, but that turned out to be the last goal of the game.
“Theodore didn’t roll over and die. Their backs were against the wall and they came out loose, they deserved to win,” said Schwartz.
Scott Mickoski of Regina scored a pair of goals for Cobras, but the only other offense they could muster was a goal from William Hauber of Canora. Assists came from Vaughn Wilgosh and Carter Dereniwsky of Canora, and Derrick Schwartz of Runnymede
Game 4
Game 4 hit the ice back in Theodore, and for the second night in a row, the road team was successful.
“Our guys came out ready to play,” said Coach Schwartz. “We got the first goal and got stronger as the game went on, we played well.”
The Cobras never trailed, building period leads of 4-2 and 7-3. Special teams providing the margin of victory for the Cobras, as they scored two goals on the power play, and two more while shorthanded.
“Special teams were very important,” said Schwartz. “We played disciplined and still had plenty of hits. The two shorthanded goals, that’s just the result of hard work.”
Logan Foster of Kamsack was the offensive star of this game, with four goals and an assist, including both shorthanded markers. Carter Dereniwsky found the net twice, while Vaughn Wilgosh and Derrick Schwartz rounded out the goal scoring for the Cobras with one each. Cody Dubas of Invermay, Austin Severson of Norquay and Brett Duczek of Grayson were the top playmakers, each with a pair of assists.
“We knew we had to play well,” said Schwartz. “We didn’t want to go to a do-or-die Game 5 where the pressure would really be on us. Last year was on our minds when we came back to beat Swan Valley, we didn’t want that done to us.”
The Cobras now wait for their opponent to be decided for the league final series, as the Rocanville/Esterhazy semifinal was ongoing at press time,
“We had a great crowd for Game 3 against Theodore, even though we lost,” said Schwartz. “People like to come out to the rink this time of year, and we hope to see them again and they fill the rink for the final.”
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