On a blustery Valentine’s Day weekend the U12 North Kildonan Cobras ringette team loaded the bus and headed out to Saskatoon for a three-day ringette tournament.  

The Cobras were off to play up to seven teams that were completely unknown to them and they were ready for the challenge.  This trip was the team’s first out-of-town tournament and the girls were pumped.

The Cobras faced a gruelling schedule that had them playing  six games in the three days and included both early  and late ice-times. The team fought hard and went undefeated in round-robin play to make it into the playoff rounds.  

The Cobras were even able to hand the home-town Saskatoon Vipers their first loss of the season.

Although the round-robin was a bit of a cakewalk for the team, the Cobras had to dig deep once they got to the playoff games. In the first game, the Cobras faced a tough Zoom team from Saskatoon and were down 4-1 as the end of the first half drew near.  

The Cobras were a bit shaken but coach Tracy Peacock called a crucial timeout that was able to redirect them and get the team focused. The girls ended up winning that game 6-4.

The Cobras went into the Gold Medal game against the Vipers with high hopes and a lot of confidence.  

The Vipers were not going down without a fight, though, and the game was back and forth with each goal by NK being answered by the Vipers. The crowd was on its feet the entire game and cheering was at a fever pitch.

The final score was North Kildonan 11 Saskatoon Vipers 9. The Cobras won gold in their first out-of-town tournament and players and coaches were ecstatic.

The Cobras’ tournament play was nothing short of amazing as the team came together. The trip also held many other memories and will not soon be forgotten by the players, their coaches or their parents who were hissing for them from the bleachers.

Great job, Cobras!

Suzanne Dyck is a community correspondent for River East.