Pre-season competitive minor hockey started off strong for the Eastern Ontario Cobras teams as the club begins its 25th season.
The Cobras U11AA claimed victory in their season debut at the Belleville Pre-Season Tilt AA Tournament held from September 29 to October 1.
The team had a nervous start to the tournament, trailing host Belleville Bulls 0-3 entering the third, the team rallied to a 3-3 tie. The team gained confidence from a strong ending to game 1. The team went in to beat Quinte 8-1, Kingston 6-2 and Timmins 4-0 to finish the round robin at 3-0-1, good enough for the first seed.
The Cobras u11aa met Quinte in the semi-finals and skated to a 3-0 victory. Only the Belleville Bulls stood in the way of championship banner. After a delayed game and a change of venue, the U11AA Cobras put out a complete team effort and won the championship over the hosts by a score of 6-1 on the AHL’s Belleville Senators ice.
The U13AA Cobras also returned from Belleville with a first-place victory. The U13AA Cobras claimed victory over Belleville 7-1 and Quinte 6-1 in the round robin only to lose a close game 3-2 against Kanata.
In the semi-finals, the U13AA cobras had a dominant performance against Quinte and punched their ticket to the finals with a 4-1 win.
The stage was set for the final game against league rival Kanata. Ice issues at the Belleville arena forced the U13AA Cobras to travel to Trenton for the ultimate game. It was a hard-fought battle and 3 periods were not enough to claim victory. The U13AA Cobras were crowned champions in sudden death overtime!
Overall great performance by both the U11AA and U13AA Cobras who joined the U12AA who had won their tournament in Ottawa the week before!
