The Wilkie Outlaws won Game 2 on March 7 and then Game 3 the following afternoon to win the best-of-three series and move on to the Provincial final.<\/p>\n
CANORA – In what was \u201cprobably our most complete game of the year so far,\u201d according to Canora Cobras Coach Darren Schwartz, the Cobras grabbed at 1-0 series lead at home to start the North final for the Provincial B championship on Feb. 28. But the five-hour bus ride to Wilkie on March 7 did not produce the desired results, as the Outlaws won Game 2 and then Game 3 the following afternoon to win the best-of-three series and move on to the Provincial final.<\/p>\n
Game 2<\/p>\n
On March 7 in Wilkie, the Outlaws opened the scoring in the first period, but the Cobras bounced back and tied it up on a goal by Carson Sass of Melville, set up by Carter Dereniwsky of Canora. That would prove to be the last of the offense for the Cobras on this night. The Outlaws took the lead for good with under two minutes left in the first period. Wilkie extended the lead with two goals in the second period and one more in the third for a 5-1 final score, and a 1-1 tie in the best-of-three series, forcing Game 3 to decide the series.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe made the bus ride and started off OK, but not the way we needed to play,\u201d said Coach Schwartz. \u201cWe started playing the way we need to play in the third period. If we would\u2019ve played that way and hit them more the whole game, we may not have won Game 2 but we would have worn them down more and probably won Game 3.\u201d<\/p>\n
Game 3<\/p>\n
The following afternoon the two teams were back on the ice in Wilkie, knowing this game was win or go home.<\/p>\n
Wilkie scored the all-important first goal, and let 1-0 after the opening period. With each team scoring twice in the second period, the Outlaws maintained their one-goal advantage heading into the final period. They added one more goal in the third to wrap up a 4-2 win to take the series in the maximum three games.<\/p>\n
Goal scorers for the Cobras were Vaughn Wilgosh of Canora, with assists from Sean Kolodziejski of Hyas and Carter Dereniwsky of Canora, and the second goal was scored unassisted by Damian Bentz of Madge Lake.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this game we played better and had more momentum, but we kept falling behind,\u201d said Coach Schwartz. \u201cBut give Wilkie credit, they\u2019re a very experienced team, probably the best team we\u2019ve played in the last two years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schwartz said after the series was over, the Wilkie coach told him, \u201cAfter playing you guys, we haven\u2019t been this banged up in two years.\u201d<\/p>\n
This series demonstrated the importance of home ice advantage for the playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m pretty sure we would have won the series if we had home ice,\u201d said Schwartz. \u201cBut we had a pretty good run in provincials this year. We finally made it to the North final after losing out earlier in the last two years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even though the Cobras failed to win the series, General Manager Casey Mydonick said the long bus ride to Wilkie was still a good experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a little morale booster to just kind of all be together on such a long trip,\u201d said Mydonick. \u201cA shout out to our sponsors for making this weekend possible. The boys played hard but just couldn\u2019t get the outcome we needed. I\u2019d like to thank all the volunteers, coaching staff, and players for making this season a success thus far. With that being said, we\u2019re looking forward to the finals against Langenburg!\u201d<\/p>\n
The SEHL best-of-five final series was scheduled to get underway in Canora on March 13. Games 2 and 3 were set for Langenburg on March 14 and 20. If necessary, Game 4 will be back in Canora on March 21, with the fifth and deciding Game to take place in Langenburg on March 27.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a great series,\u201d said Coach Schwartz. \u201dThey only beat us out by one point in the regular season. Both teams have small rinks, there\u2019s going be hard hitting and it\u2019ll be a good series to watch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s some history here, these two teams don\u2019t like each other. They have good offensive players. Some of them don\u2019t like to get hit, so we need to hit them. We need to crash and bang, play solid defence, and capitalize on our opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
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