2005 RBC Cup

Preliminary Round
May 10, 2005
Weyburn, SK

On paper, it was supposed to be David vs. Goliath, but on the ice, it was a different story, as the Weyburn Red Wings scored an entertaining 3-1 upset of the Camrose Kodiaks Tuesday night.
 
Camrose, the Alberta Junior Hockey League champion, lost only eight regular-season games all year, and came into the Royal Bank Cup as Canada’s top-ranked Junior A squad. The host Red Wings, on the other hand, limped into the tournament as the only team with a sub-.500 record.
 
None of that mattered Tuesday night. From the drop of the puck, the Wings were flying, generating several early scoring chances. Kodiaks goalie David Thompson stood tall early, though, kicking away a hot shot from Matt Wheeler after the Weyburn defenseman jumped into the rush.
 
Camrose got its high-speed offense in gear midway through the first period, and at 16:03, Logan Gorsalitz found Mason Raymond streaking down the middle. Raymond, the tournament’s leading scorer, tucked a shot inside the right post behind Weyburn goalie Brenden Cuthbert.
 
Weyburn tied the game less than two minutes later on the power play, when a Marc Schweitzer point shot off the faceoff found its way to the back of the net through a maze of legs. That goal re-ignited both the crowd and the Red Wings, but Thompson kept the game deadlocked.
 
Both goaltenders starred in a scoreless second period. Weyburn’s Cuthbert came up big early in the period after Camrose roared out of the dressing room with a lot of energy. Later on, Thompson stood his ground when Red Wings forwards Daniel Erlandson and Colby Nichol tried to stuff the puck by him.
 
An elbowing penalty to Weyburn’s Kai Magnussen indirectly led to the game-winning goal in the third period. After the Red Wings killed off the penalty, Magnussen stepped right out of the box and took long saucer pass from Wood. Breaking in alone on Thompson, he deked and scored a pretty goal on his backhand.
 
Kirk Medernach sent the crowd into a frenzy when he beat Thompson on a two-on-one at 15:32 of the third to put Weyburn up 3-1. The noise continued to build as the clock ticked down, and the Weyburn fans saluted their team with a standing ovation for the last thirty seconds of the game.
 
Players of the game were Weyburn’s Marc Schweitzer and Camrose’s Kyle Parkes.
 
Weyburn and Camrose both share identical 2-1 records, but Weyburn sits in first place by merit of their win over the Kodiaks.
 
By Dan Kinvig