The championship final featured the surprising Kindersley Klippers up
against the experienced Aurora Tigers. After upsetting the host Grande Prairie Storm 4-3 one night earlier,
the Kindersley players had less than 20 hours of rest before they had to face off against the well-rested
Tigers, who dumped the Nepean Raiders 7-2 during semifinal Saturday’s afternoon game. "We’re playing on
TSN," said Kindersley’s Casey Lee, who scored the game-winning goal against the Storm with 35.5 seconds
left in the game. "That’s the No. 1 think in all of our heads." With a sold-out crowd and a
national audience tuned in to watch the game, the Aurora Tigers scored two goals in a span of 1:06 to jump
out to an early lead. Francis Walker one-timed in a perfect pass from Sean Scully at 8:19 of the first before
defenceman Mike Kostka beat Kindersley goalie Kevin Dziaduck with a long wrist shot 66 seconds later. The
Tigers then went up 3-0 when Jesse Olden batted in a rebound at 12:38 of the opening frame. The Klippers hit
the scoresheet with 4:17 left in the period when Jason Fleck snuck a bad angle shot past Aurora netminder
Chris Whitley with traffic in front of the net. But the Tigers regained their three-goal cushion when Scully
banked a shot in off of a Kindersley defenceman at the 19:00 minute mark of the first. In the second, the
Klippers tried to switch the momentum by replacing Dziaduck in net with Nathan Deobald. But the Tigers kept
pressing and increased their lead to 7-1 on a pair of second period power-play goals by Andrew Hotham and
Walker and an even-strength marker off the stick of Michael Tonelli. After the teams battled to a scoreless
final frame, the Tigers jumped onto the ice to celebrate their 7-1 victory. They wound up outshooting the
Klippers 57-22 in the game. With the win, the Tigers became the first-ever team from the Ontario Provincial
Junior Hockey League to win the RBC Royal Bank Cup. The last time an Ontario-based team won the national
title was when the Thunder Bay Flyers of the United States Hockey League captured the title in 1992 when it
was known as the Centennial Cup.
Box Score |
CEN |
4
|
3
|
0
|
7
|
Compte |
WST |
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
First Period/Première période |
Scoring/Buts:
Central Scoring
1, Walker, (6) (Scully, Kitchen), 08:19
1, Kostka, (1) (Gilbert), 09:25
1, Olden, (1) (Brenner), 12:38
1, Scully, (5) , 19:00 (PP)
West Scoring
1, Fleck, (5) , 15:43
Penalties/Pénalités:
Central Penalties
1 - Aitken, 13:42 - Holding, 2min (PP)
|
Second Period/Deuxième période |
Scoring/Buts:
Central Scoring
2, Hotham, (2) (Scully, Walker), 06:25 (PP)
2, Kostka, (2) (Walker, Bahen), 15:43 (PP)
2, Tonelli, (2) (Minchella, Henderson), 18:52
Penalties/Pénalités:
Central Penalties
2 - Minchella, 2:29 - Hooking, 2min (PP)
|
Third Period/Troisième période |
Scoring/Buts:
Penalties/Pénalités:
Central Penalties
3 - Brenner, 0:26 - High Sticking, 2min (PP)
3 - Hotham, 5:34 - Holding, 2min (PP)
|
Goaltenders |
CEN |
Whitley, Chris |
Gardiennes de but |
WST |
Dziaduck, Kevin, Deobald, Nathan |
|
Shots on Goal |
Team |
1 p
|
2 p
|
3 p
|
Final
|
Shots on Goal |
CEN |
21
|
25
|
11
|
57
|
Tirs au but |
WST |
8
|
6
|
8
|
22
|
|
Referee/Arbitre |
Gerard Rajotte |
Linesmen/Juges des lignes |
Miles Spencer, Cam McMillan |
|
Attendance/Assistance |
2721 |
|