CANORA - Things were not looking good for the Canora Cobras when they fell behind the Swan Valley Axemen 2-0 in the best-of-five SEHL north division final series. If anything, the outlook got worse when Canora fell behind by three goals about halfway through Game 3 in Canora on March 8. But the Cobras fought back, beat the odds, and won a pair of overtime thrillers to force the fifth and deciding Game in Canora on Friday, March 15.
Things appeared to be looking up when the Cobras opened the scoring in the first minute of Game 3 in Canora on March 8. But Swan Valley tied the score less than 20 seconds later and went up 4-1 later in the first period.
“We got down early, which was not anything we wanted,” said Cobras Coach Darren Schwartz.
The Cobras managed a goal before the end of the first period, but the Axemen scored again about halfway through the second period to regain their three-goal lead.
Then, a fight involving Casey Mydonick of Canora seemed to spark the Cobras.
“They took a penalty and Casey responded. That got our guys going,” said Schwartz. “We went back to hitting them and playing our game.”
The Cobras scored twice later in the second period, and tied the score in the third on a point shot from Tomas Hauber of Canora.
The home team continued the momentum in overtime, where Cole Rathgeber capitalized on a Swan Valley turnover and score the winning goal, his second of the game.
Other Canora goals came from the sticks of Logan Foster, Scott Mickoski and Skyler Hladun. Troy Zulyniak was the top playmaker with a pair of assists.
Schwartz was proud of his team’s effort in the comeback, and added that the fans played a major role in the victory. “The fan support we had was amazing, over 500 people. You can’t beat that atmosphere, the guys loved it.”
There wasn’t much time to rest, as the teams made the trip back to Minitonas, Man. for Game 4 of the series the following evening.
Unlike recent games, the Cobras had an excellent start in Game 4.
“We really took it to them and were up 2-0 after the first period,” said Schwartz. “In the second we continued to play well but took some penalties, and they scored a power play goal.”
The Cobras took a 3-1 lead just past the halfway mark of the third period, and it looked like they might get out of Manitoba with a win before overtime. But the Swan Valley offense came alive after they pulled the goalie with about three minutes left in regulation time.
“They scored with about two minutes left, but we still had the lead,” said Schwartz. “With about 10 seconds left our guys were going for the empty net goal and didn’t get the puck out of our end. They recovered and tied the game.
“In overtime, both teams had nothing left. We got lucky on a line change, had a two-on-one break, and scored the winning goal. What a big win for us!”
Logan Foster scored a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, and added an assist. Scott Mickoski chipped in with a goal and an assist, while Ryley Stefanyshyn of Canora was the other goal scorer.
Schwartz said Durban Hleboff has been a huge factor in the Cobras even being alive to play Game 5, coming off the bench in the first period of Game 3 to take over in goal and then starting Game 4, facing close to 100 shots in the two victories
“He really stepped up. He’s a big reason why we won these last two games.”
The message to the Cobras heading into Game 5 is pretty simple, according to Schwartz.
“You’ve got to be ready. It’s one game, do-or-die, win or go home. Hard work will prevail all the time.”
Appreciative of their support earlier in the series, Schwartz encourages Cobras fans to find a way to ramp up the intensity even higher on Friday night.
“Come out and watch some exciting hockey. Both teams are evenly matched and playing really well, with lots of skating and hard hitting. We’ve had three overtime games in a row, that doesn’t happen to often in the same series.
“It was a great crowd the last game, but we’d like to see over 600 for Game 5.”
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