November 28, 2007
The Minor Atom B Cobras have struggled so far in the regular season, but they went deep into the playoffs in their first tournament of the season.
Coach Al Crnjac had the team fired up for their first game on Friday afternoon, November 23. Matched up against Nepean, the Cobras spotted the Red Raiders a one-goal lead in the first period. Cameron Gallant tied the game midway through the third period on a power-play goal, then notched the winner on another goal with the man advantage with 48 seconds left in the game.
The Cobras tied both of their games on Saturday to earn a berth in the semi-final on Sunday. They traded third period goals with the Stittsville Rams in the first game for a 1-1 tie. The second game ended in an identical score against the Kanata Blazers White.
In the semi-final, the Cobras were matched against the Metcalfe Russell River Rats, who were undefeated in league play. The River Rats drew first blood in the second period, but the Cobras power play was too much for Metcalfe in third. Scott McMaster tied the game at 5:04 on a pass from Keenan Reynolds, and Mikael Gaumond buried the winner on a set-up by Steven Crnjac at the 10:18 mark. On to the final!
The final against the Kanata Blue Blazers was a see-saw affair with the lead changing hands four times through three periods. At the end of regulation time Eastern Ontario and Kanata were tied 3-3. Keenan Reynolds and Nicholas Lajeunesse (with two goals) accounted for the Cobras scoring.
The two teams battled through a scoreless overtime period playing 4 on 4, and headed into double overtime with three skaters each with the tournament championship on the line. Unfortunately, a victory simply wasn’t in the cards for Eastern Ontario against Kanata, the first place team in the Western Division of the Atom Minor B league. At 2:53 of the second overtime the Blue Blazers scored on a partial breakaway to win the tournament.
"I am really proud of how well the team played this weekend," said Crnjac. "The final could have gone either way. Overall it was a great effort from all of our players against strong opponents. No one expected us to do this well, and I know this tournament will give the kids a great boost in their confidence as they return to league play."
