2005 RBC Cup

Host 3 Pacific 2 

Championship Game
May 15, 2005
Weyburn, SK

Remember the name Rick Wood. The folks in Weyburn certainly will.

The diminutive Weyburn Red Wings forward scored the winning goal in the host team’s unbelievable 3-2 victory over the Camrose Kodiaks in the RBC Royal Bank Cup final. Wood poked the puck by Kodiaks keeper David Thompson with 16.6 seconds left in the game, mere seconds after Camrose had tied the game with their goalie on the bench.

The improbable victory secured the second national Junior A championship for head coach Dwight McMillan and the Red Wings. McMillan also led Weyburn to the championship in 1984, when the trophy was known as the Centennial Cup.

That 1984 championship banner fluttered over centre ice at the Colosseum Sunday. Both teams started tentatively, with Camrose holding a 1-0 edge in shots after six minutes of play. The Kodiaks generated some offense on a penalty to Weyburn’s Kai Magnussen, but Wings goalie Brenden Cuthbert wasn’t cooperating, sliding across to block a one-timed slap shot from Mason Raymond with his mask.

The Red Wings needed almost eleven minutes to muster their first shot on goal, but despite their slow start, they got on the board first. Late in the period, Justin Schmidt stole the puck at the Camrose blue line and fired a wrist shot that Thompson handled easily, but the rebound bounced off the chest of a hard-charging Magnussen and fell into the net at 16:56.

Penalty trouble cost Camrose in a big way in the second period. At 9:06, Kodiaks winger Kyle Parkes received a game misconduct after knocking Weyburn defenseman Joe Pace into the end boards from behind. The Kodiaks clearly missed the speedy Parkes, who led the team in scoring during the regular season. Defenseman TJ Fast joined Parkes in the dressing room at 15:49 after receiving a two-minute minor and a ten-minute misconduct for checking to the head.

The Red Wings cashed in on Fast’s penalty to make it 2-0. Wood, who led the team in scoring with nine points during the tournament, burst down the right wing and circled the Camrose net before finding defenseman Cody Wasik trailing the play. Wasik fired the puck between Thompson’s legs at 16:38.

Weyburn took the 2-0 lead into the second intermission, despite being outshot 24-15.

At 2:09 of the third period, Camrose cut the lead in half with a goal from MacGregor Sharp. The Kodiaks continued to press, but Cuthbert kept the Wings ahead, stoning Scott Dafoe on two separate occasions when the Camrose forward found himself all alone in front of the net.

The noise in the Colosseum was deafening as the clock ticked towards zero, but Jason Roberts put the celebration on hold, dragging the puck into the crease and roofing it over Cuthbert with only 34.5 seconds to go.

Overtime seemed certain, but an innocent-looking shoot-in led to disaster for Thompson and the Kodiaks. As Thompson struggled to tame a bouncing puck to the right of his net, Wood raced in and stretched to poke the puck past him. The goal, with 16.6 seconds on the clock, incited a roar from the Weyburn crowd that threatened to tear the roof off the Colosseum.

Players of the game were Brenden Cuthbert of Weyburn, who stopped 41 shots in the win, and Jason Roberts of Camrose. Shots were 43-19 in favor of Camrose.

By Dan Kinvig

Box Score HST 1 1 1 3
Compte PAC 0 0 2 2

First Period/Première période

Scoring/Buts:
HST 1, Magnussen, (2) (Schmidt), 16:56

Penalties/Pénalités:
HST 1 - Magnussen, 8:00 - Interference, 2min (PP)
HST 1 - Lillejord, 17:26 - Hooking, 2min (PP)

Second Period/Deuxième période

Scoring/Buts:
HST 2, Wasik, (1) (Wood), 16:38 (PP)

Penalties/Pénalités:
HST 2 - MacDougall, 12:35 - Hooking, 2min (PP)
PAC 2 - Boyd, 5:22 - Tripping, 2min (PP)
PAC 2 - Parkes, 9:06 - Checking from Behind, 2min (PP)
PAC 2 - Parkes, 9:06 - Game Misconduct, 10min
PAC 2 - Fast, 15:49 - Checking to the head, 2min (PP)
PAC 2 - Fast, 15:49 - 10-Minute Misconduct, 10min

Third Period/Troisième période

Scoring/Buts:
HST 3, Wood, (3) , 19:44
PAC 3, Sharp, (2) , 02:09
PAC 3, Roberts, (4) (Friedley), 19:25

Penalties/Pénalités:
HST 3 - Kuntz, 16:52 - Roughing, 2min (PP)
PAC 3 - Gorsalitz, 12:40 - High Sticking, 2min (PP)


Goaltenders HST Brenden Cuthbert
Gardiennes de but PAC David Thompson

Referee/Arbitre Keith Mackintosh
Linesmen/Juges des lignes Kelly Balaberda, Chris Callaghan

Attendance/Assistance 2,200

For more information:
Ryan Robins Manager, Marketing Services

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