2008 National U18 Club Championship

Séminaire St-François Blizzard  2 -  Winnipeg Thrashers  5

 

LETHAL POWERPLAY LEADS WINNIPEG TO VICTORY OVER SAINT-FRANÇOIS

Down 2-1 after the opening 20 minutes, the Winnipeg Thrashers turned to their powerplay to pull them out of an early hole, and the man advantage unit responded with four goals in the final two periods in a 5-2 Winnipeg win over the Séminaire Saint-François Blizzard on Tuesday.

The win moves the West Region champions to 2-0, with wins over arguably the two favourites coming in to this year’s National Midget Championship – the Thrashers beat Calgary 3-0 on Monday.

Despite getting off to a fast start – Cole Pruden opened the scoring just 2:59 after the opening face-off – Winnipeg trailed after the first period, as Saint-François got goals from Guillaume Bélanger and Dave Leclerc to take a 2-1 lead into the intermission.

But goaltender Brett Martyniuk and the Thrashers defense stood tall over the final 40 minutes, holding the Quebec champions to just 15 shots over the second and third periods.

The Blizzard began to get into penalty trouble early in the middle frame, handing the Thrashers a 5-on-3 advantage that David Conrad would convert, taking a cross-ice feed from Corbin Baldwin – who finished with three assists – and snapping a one-timer past an outstretched Jean-Phillipe Gagnon in the Saint-François goal.

The third period was all Winnipeg, as the Pruden gave the Thrashers their first lead since early on with his second of the game on the powerplay, and Jesse Hall and Michael Hay added man advantage markers in the final 10 minutes to give the Manitobans a little insurance.

Winnipeg finished the third period with a 14-4 advantage in shots on goal, and outshot the Blizzard 32-21 overall.

Pruden was a deserving winner of player of the game honours for the Thrashers, while Patrick Delisle-Houde, one of three members of the Blizzard playing in their second consecutive TELUS Cup, won the award for Saint-François.

Winnipeg looks to all but wrap up a semi-final spot on Wednesday when they face the Atlantic Region champions from Cole Harbour at 4:00 p.m. ET, while the Blizzard will try to return to the win column against Sudbury at 12:00 p.m. ET.

 

Game Information
Game Number Round Round Robin
Arena Nick Smith Centre City, Country Arnprior, Ont., Canada
Month / Day / Year 04/22/2008 Time (local) 12:00 PM ET
Attendance 250 Game Status Final

Box Score   1     2     3   Total
Séminaire St-François Blizzard (QUE) 2 0 0 2
Winnipeg Thrashers (HST) 1 1 3 5
Goals/Penalties
First Period
Goals:
   02:59 HST 10 Cole Pruden (20 David Conrad)
   04:36 QUE 22 Guillaume Bélanger (37 Frédérick Roy)
   08:21 QUE 44 Dave Leclerc (48 Tommy Déry) PP

Penalties:
   06:32 HST 11 Nolan Zajac (Hooking)
   14:20 HST 3 Jesse Pearson (Interference)

Second Period
Goals:
   02:06 HST 20 David Conrad (19 Corbin Baldwin, 11 Nolan Zajac) PP

Penalties:
   01:18 QUE 37 Frédérick Roy (Tripping)
   01:55 QUE 43 François Fortin (Roughing)
   09:35 HST 22 Jesse Hall (Roughing)
   19:30 QUE 37 Frédérick Roy (Slashing)

Third Period
Goals:
   04:27 HST 10 Cole Pruden (19 Corbin Baldwin, 3 Jesse Pearson) PP
   10:44 HST 22 Jesse Hall (21 Michael Hay, 14 Mark Stone) PP
   12:39 HST 21 Michael Hay (19 Corbin Baldwin, 11 Nolan Zajac) PP

Penalties:
   02:27 QUE 37 Frédérick Roy (High Sticking)
   09:17 QUE 47 Jean-Phillipe Mathieu (Slashing)
   11:50 QUE 43 François Fortin (Slashing)
   11:50 HST 17 Dan Hrabowych (High Sticking)
   12:14 QUE 57 Justin Ducharme (Roughing)
   14:17 HST 20 David Conrad (Cross Checking)


Goaltenders
Séminaire St-François Blizzard
29 Jean-Phillipe Gagnon On 1/00:00   Off 3/20:00
Winnipeg Thrashers
35 Brett Martyniuk On 1/00:00   Off 3/20:00

Shots on Goal   1     2     3   Total
Séminaire St-François Blizzard 6 11 4 21
Winnipeg Thrashers 6 12 14 32

Player of Game
Séminaire St-François Blizzard 24 Patrick Delisle-Houde
Winnipeg Thrashers 10 Cole Pruden
Officials
Referee Josh Foster
Lines People Jon Powell, Jon Andress

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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