It was a great night for hockey on Saturday night, with two rival towns going head-to-head at the Broda Sportsplex in Kamsack.
The Kamsack Peewee Flyers ultimately lost 5-4 to the Canora Cobras.
The game started at 4:30 p.m., right after the Kamsack Novice Flyers team won its game, also played against a Canora team, the novice Cobras.
This game was pegged as the battle of Highway No. 5. It was a rematch of the two teams, as both played each other a couple of weeks ago with Kamsack winning that game in Canora.
The first period started with both teams trying to find their skating legs beneath them. It took a few minutes of end-to-end action with very few shots on both goalies.
However, after a few minutes, No. 1, Ty Thomas, had to be sharp on his game as Canora started to pour on the pressure and the shots. Kamsack did a great job of weathering the storm for a while but Canora broke through and started the scoring with No. 2 Ty Shukin streaking down the right wing and putting a back hand through to the back of the net at the 14:07 mark of the first period.
The Flyers used that goal against to wake up a bit. Kamsack then started to attack in the Canora Cobras’ end. The Flyers got on the board with 9:23 left in the first period when No. 6, Bernice Keshane, crossed Canora’s blue line and then cut into the middle with two opposing players on her tail.
Keshane shot the puck about four feet inside the blue line across her body, finding the far bottom corner, as she beat the goalie sliding the other way. The tie game didn’t last long as Canora came back with more pressure and a great hard-working rebound goal scored by No. 7 Logan Lewchuk, who was in the right spot at the right time. The hard-working part of the goal was made by No. 16, Porter Wolkowski of Canora, who battled hard to keep the puck in, then knocked the puck free off a Kamsack player. Wolkowski then rifled a hard shot that was stopped by Ty Thomas but had no chance on the rebound.
The next six or so minutes was all Ty Thomas, flashing the leather and stopping the rubber. Thomas stopped all the pucks but a rebound popped off his pad to the left of him and No. 20 Hayden Strelioff battled his way through a Flyer defender in the slot to pounce on the loose rebound to bury the puck in the back of the net and the big man from Canora let the fans know with a passionate celebration.
The first period ended with Canora leading 3-1.
The second period was played a little sluggish by both teams. Kamsack got itself into some penalty trouble with its second and third penalties of the game. Canora finally scored on the power play, its fourth of the game, with No. 7 Logan Lewchuk jumping on a shot off the post and rebound to put Canora ahead 4-1 and the score would stay the same going into the second intermission.
The third period was Kamsack’s best. The peewees peppered Canora goalie No. 31 Cole Marcinkoski with shots and lots of pressure in the Cobras’ zone.
Probably the nicest set play of the game came in the third with 15:31 left. The faceoff was to the right of Canora’s goalie No. 31 Cole Marcinkoski. Kamsack’s Austin Krawetz (No. 8) took the draw, and won it cleanly back to his right, exactly where Bernice Keshane was set up. It was a bang bang play from when the puck was dropped to when it was on her stick. She took no time and one timed it, top shelf, glove high on the Canora goalie; just a marvelous goal.
The goal pulled Kamsack within two goals. Kamsack then kept Canora on its toes. The Flyers finally got to within one goal with Austin Krawetz’ power play marker with 6:07 left in the final frame. Krawetz scored it on a partial breakaway going top shelf on the goalie, where mommy keeps the cookies.
With Canora leading 4-3 with six minutes left in the game, it was back and forth between the two Highway No. 5 rivals. But Canora would ultimately hang on to win and even the season series.
