2007 National U18 Club Championship

Prince Albert Mintos  2 -  Vancouver NW Giants  1
 

MINTOS HOLD OFF GIANTS

By Kelsie Fraser

The defending champions got the 2007 TELUS Cup started off on the right foot as the Prince Albert Mintos topped the Vancouver North West Giants 2-1 on Monday afternoon in Red Deer, AB.

The Mintos opened the scoring early in the first on a powerplay goal by Jadon Potter, and pushed the lead to two when Brant Henry-Norton capitalized on a bad giveaway by Giants goaltender Kyle Nielsen.

After the second goal, Giants goaltender Graeme Gordon stepped in to replace Nielsen and was solid the rest of the way, not allowing a puck to cross the goal line.

The Giants almost got on the board in the second after a giveaway by Mintos goaltender Jordan Washburn, but the open net was missed and the score remained 2-0 for Prince Albert through 40 minutes.

Gordon was peppered with shots early in the third but managed to hold his team to only a 2-0 deficit.

Aaron Klatt got the Giants to within one at 2-1, scoring with 1:33 remaining on the clock, but the Pacific representatives could not get another puck past Washburn.

The Mintos may have picked up the win, but they feel it definitely wasn’t their best effort.

“We came out a little rusty and that’s one thing that we will really need to improve on for our next game,” said the Mintos’ Lewis Laczko, a member of Prince Albert’s 2006 championship team.

Laczko was named Player of the Game for the Mintos, while Graeme Gordon earned the honour for the Giants.

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PREVIEW: MINTOS FACE GIANTS TO KICK OFF TELUS CUP

The 2007 TELUS Cup kicks off Monday afternoon in Red Deer as the defending national champion Prince Albert Mintos take to the ice at Red Deer Arena to face the Vancouver North West Giants.

The Mintos, looking to become the first team in the 29-year history of the National Midget Championship to repeat as champions, were the dominant team at the West Regional in Brandon, MB, going undefeated through the round robin and jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the championship game before holding on for a 4-3 win.

Mintos goaltender Carsen Chubak was spectacular through the Saskatchewan playoffs, posting a 1.95 goals against average and .940 save percentage in 12 games as the Mintos won their second consecutive Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League championship.

The Giants have not played a competitive game since wrapping up the B.C. Major Midget League crown with a 4-1 win over the Cariboo Cougars on March 26. With the host Red Deer Optimist Rebels winning the Alberta championship, the Giants were named the Pacific representatives.

Just like Chubak backstopped the Mintos to a championship, so too did Giants netminder Graeme Gordon, who posted a miniscule 0.50 postseason goals against average, following up on a 2.06 GAA during the regular season.

With just five games before the playoff round begins, both teams will look to jump out to a strong start in the week-long tournament and get a game in the win column.

 

Game Information
Game Number Round Preliminary
Arena Red Deer Arena City, Country Red Deer, Alta., Canada
Month / Day / Year 04/23/2007 Time (local) 12:00 PM MT
Attendance 526 Game Status Final

Box Score   1     2     3   Total
Prince Albert Mintos (WST) 2 0 0 2
Vancouver NW Giants (PAC) 0 0 1 1
Goals/Penalties
First Period
Goals:
   05:32 WST 19 Jadon Potter (4 Lewis Laczko, 23 Tyler Fiddler) PP
   18:26 WST 16 Brant Henry-Norton

Penalties:
   01:43 WST 7 Sterling Labatte (Interference)
   04:21 PAC 2 Cole Gelley (Tripping)
   08:26 PAC 9 Chris Hoe (Tripping)
   19:01 PAC 20 Landon Ferraro (Interference)
   20:00 WST 10 Tommy Brown (Roughing)

Second Period
Goals:

Penalties:
   18:31 PAC 12 Kevin Smith (Hooking)

Third Period
Goals:
   18:27 PAC 14 Aaron Klatt (17 Clinton Atkinson, 16 Marko Gordic)

Penalties:
   02:54 WST 2 Mitchell Peeke (Hooking)
   06:51 WST 23 Tyler Fiddler (Cross Checking)


Goaltenders
Prince Albert Mintos
1 Jordan Washburn On 1/00:00   Off 3/20:00
Vancouver NW Giants
1 Kyle Nielsen On 1/00:00   Off 1/18:26
35 Graeme Gordon On 1/18:27   Off 3/18:53

Shots on Goal   1     2     3   Total
Prince Albert Mintos 10 13 12 35
Vancouver NW Giants 7 3 13 23

Player of Game
Prince Albert Mintos 4 Lewis Laczko
Vancouver NW Giants 35 Graeme Gordon
Officials
Referee Lance McKinnon
Lines People Steve Cochrane, Cody Huseby
Goal Judge Don Leitz, Steve Fleming
Videos
Photos
2023 Men’s U18 Club Nationals: Day 7 – Sunday, April 30
The Blizzard defeat the Gaulois for gold and the Blazers take home bronze
2023 Men’s U18 Club Nationals: Day 6 – Saturday, April 29
The Blizzard and Gaulois win to set up an all Quebec U18 Club Nationals final.
2023 Men’s U18 Club Nationals: Day 5 – Friday, April 28
The Flames, Blazers and Jr. Canadiens won to wrap up the preliminary round.
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