INITIATION: The Coaldale Initiation 1 Cobras played three games in a Raymond tournament this past weekend.The Cobras outscored their opposition 39-12 in going unbeaten in games against Warner, Cardston and Kainai. Scoring for the Cobras were Paul VandenElzen with nine, Riley Preachuk with seven, Brady Magarrell scored six goals, Dawson Bangma contributed five, Tyler Wiebe popped four, Sam Wegenast got his first hat trick with three goals against Cardston, Kevin Erick scored a pair against Warner and Bowman Klippenstein, Kade Lyckman and Carter Opp each added singles.
NOVICE: The Picture Butte Novice Elks Broncos where off to Taber Saturday. It was a hard fought game. After the first period they where up by two. Tyler Maslen had a strong period scoring a goal and an assist. Caden Heins and Sebastian Liska also contributed a goal. Taber came back in the second period. Butte worked hard in the third. Liska added two more goals. Heins added another goal off Nicholas Rudelich. Aaron Molenaar played an excellent game in net.
It was another exciting game this Sunday with the Coaldale Novice Cobras facing off against the Lethbridge Eagles. It was close all game with goals going back and forth right to the end. Kaden Roy came away with two goals and a assist. Braeden Sheppard also scored himself two goals and had a assist. Brady Hoffman scored two goals in the first and third period. Piper Slezak came away with a goal and two assist and Blake Janssens scored one and had a assist as well. Rylen Stringer helped out with an assist. The Cobras lost 9-8 but they worked hard all game. Brenden Duda did a fantastic job in net stopping lots of goals.
ATOM: The Coaldale Atom 2 Cobras played well in the Brooks Atom Tournament this past weekend, winning only one of three games played, but were competitive in all games, and were particularly gratified to earn high scores in the Skills Competition too.
The Cobras first game against the Nanton Colts was a close, low-scoring, hard fought contest. Both goaltenders were strong, but Blake Vaselenak in the Cobra net was particularly sharp, surrendering very few rebounds. Our Cobras matched the Colts chance-for-chance, goal-for-goal, until late in the third period when Nanton scored the insurance marker to seal the score at 5-3. Aidan Robertson and Aiden McDonald provided the scoring for our Cobras, with Robertson notching two goals and assisting on McDonald’s goal as well. Ethan Waldie earned two assists contributing fine passes on both of Robertson’s goals. Robertson was named “Digger of the Game” for his intense offensive skills and determined backchecking.
A little over an hour later the Atom 2 Cobras took on the Sylvan Lake Lakers. Once again, our Cobras fought doggedly for two periods  to create scoring chances and squelch the Laker attack.
The game ended wih a flurry of Laker goals and a 11-7 final in their favour.
McDonald scored four goals with Robertson adding two, Waldie assisted on one of those markers, and Gabe Neufeld found the twine with a single goal as well. Once again, Robertson deserved the title “Digger of the Game”.
Late Saturday evening in the Skills Competition our Cobras fared very well, winning or placing highly in nearly all five events.The five skill areas tested were Team Relay, Hardest Shot, Target Shooting, Speed/Agility/Puck Control, and Shootout. Coach Rob McNeill’s choices of Cobra players for the various events proved particularly astute when our Relay Team of Haylee Pierson, Matthew Fujita, Gabe Neufeld, Aidan Robertson and Kya McNeill proved to be the fastest overall, when Aiden McDonald placed third in the Speed/Agility/Puck Control event, and when Aidan Robertson and Chance Gorda made it to the final round of the Shootout event. As well, Blake Vaselenak emerged as the top goalie surrendering the fewest goals in the Shootout competition. These excellent results were a clear affirmation of the continuing improvement of the Cobras’ overall hockey skills.
Sunday morning’s final game pitted the Strathmore Storm against our Cobras.  It was a most satisfying game as the Cobras came out sharp and skating hard, passing crisply, defending staunchly, and keeping most of the play in the Strathmore end. Robertson led all Cobra scorers, celebrating four goals, Neufeld added two goals on speedy rushes, with Ragan Roth and McDonald, rewarded for hard work down low, chipping in single markers. Our defense corps was stubborn and stingy throughout, allowing very few clear-cut scoring chances for the Strathmore Storm. With Kya McNeill earning three assists, Waldie two assists, and single assists coming from Owen Gallagher, Kaeden Hatfield-Stanley and Haylee Pierson, the Cobras celebrated a real team victory, 8-4, to conclude their Brooks tournament play. McDonald was rewarded for his strong two-way play by being recognized as “Digger of the Game”.
The Coaldale Cobras Atom A team had a single exhibition game at home this weekend against the Lethbridge Hawks. The Cobras struck first with Haysyn Ostrup, Nolan Price with two goals and Derrien Tonin scoring in the first half with assists coming from Hunter Gudmundson, Easton Magarell and Ethan Carroll. The Hawks answered back with a couple in the third, but the Cobras ended it with DJ Tonin adding a single assisted by cousin Derrien Tonin. Zakary Hetesy saw 29 shots on net a 5-2 win.
PEEWEE: The Picture Butte Wilbur Ellis Peewee Hawks hosted their home tournament this weekend and competed hard to take the Tournament Champion title. Their first game had them up against the Kainai Chiefs which they won 8-1. Landon Veluw found the back of the net three times, Jared McCloud chipped in two and singles were added by Noah Braun, Ethan Stubbs and C.J. Currie. Kaiden Middleton, Kyle Davies, Lane Roggensack, Kevin Witdouck, Alex Grassl and Jackson Liska all contributed an assist. Austin Maslen took care of the goaltending duties.
Their second game had them facing off against the Calgary Southland Wolfpack. There was lots of action but the Hawks managed to take the 10-7 win. Veluw scored four goals, McCloud added two, and Witdouck, Currie, Markus Renning and Stubbs all chipped in singles. Currie added two assists and singles came from Roggensack, McCloud, Veluw, Liska, and Braun. Reed Graham worked hard between the pipes. The win put the Hawks in the final against Calgary Mindapore where their hard work paid off with a 5-3 win. Veluw had the hat trick while Liska and Witdouck each contributed singles. Veluw added two assists and Middleton and Roggensack each had one. Austin Maslen was outstanding in net.