CANORA - The Canora U9 Cobras hosted an eight-team tournament at the Canora Civic Centre on Dec. 2, with close to 90 young players taking advantage of the opportunity build their skills.
The tournament was split into two groups of four teams for round robin play. Foam Lake Blue Flyers, Yorkton LDC Terriers, Preeceville Pats and Melville Millionaires made up Group A, and the teams in Group B were Canora, Foam Lake White Flyers, Wadena Panthers and Yorkton Thorsness Terriers.
Each team played the other teams in their group once, according to Cobras Manager Jodie Kowalyshyn. Canora finished with three straight losses, “but the kids showed heart and improved each game.”
In the playoff round, the first-place teams in each pool faced off for the A banner, while the second place clubs played for the B banner.
“Wadena Wildcats came out with the win against the Yorkton LDC Terriers in a tight back-and- forth battle for the A banner,” said Kowalyshyn. “Yorkton Thorsness Terriers were very strong all day and defeated Foam Lake Blue Flyers in the B banner game.
“It was a successful tournament with lots of positive feedback from coaches and parents from all the visiting towns.”
Regardless of team records, this is an important opportunity for these young players.
“It helps improve their skills as they get to play teams from around the area,” said Kowalyshyn.
Cobras Head Coach Kelly McTavish was pleased with the efforts of his young group.
“This is the first year of U9 hockey for every kid on our team and it was a bit of an eye opener from what we saw in U7 last year. However, the kids responded well to the challenge and never gave up all day.
“I thought overall it was a fairly competitive tournament for most teams. There were definitely some strong players but all the kids did really well and seemed to enjoy themselves.”
McTavish said coaching these players is a rewarding experience from one day to the next.
“I enjoy watching them get better and progress each time they put their skates on.
“For the rest of the season, our goal for them is to develop a strong work ethic and play as a team but most importantly, have fun!”
McTavish is aided behind the bench by assistant coaches Parker Rice and Aaron Herriges.
The U9 Canora Cobras will begin league play in January in a division with five other teams from the communities of Kamsack, Preeceville, Cote, Norquay and Melville; playing a home and an away game against each team. The Cobras are also entered in a pair of tournaments in Melville and Tisdale.
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