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May 13, 2007
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PRINCE GEORGE, BC – After a pair of overtime thrillers in the semi-finals on Saturday – including the
longest game in RBC Royal Bank Cup history – the championship game is set at the 2007 RBC Royal Bank Cup.
The Aurora Tigers (Central) and Prince George Spruce Kings (Host) will battle for Canada’s 37th National
Junior A Championship on Sunday afternoon at the CN Centre in Prince George after coming out victorious in
their respective semi-finals. Aurora needed overtime to top the Pembroke Lumber Kings (East) 3-2 in the early
semi-final, while the Spruce Kings knocked off the Camrose Kodiaks (Pacific) 3-2 in the late game in five
overtimes.
Neither team has much experience when it comes to the championship game of the RBC Royal Bank Cup.
The Tigers are looking for their second National Junior A Championship, to go along with the 2004 title
that they won in Grande Prairie, AB. That year, they knocked off the Kindersley Klippers 7-1 to win Canadian
Junior A hockey’s top prize. But that appearance is the lone one for the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey
League champions.
The Spruce Kings are in the championship game for the first time, in their first-ever appearance at the
National Junior A Championship. They will look to be the seventh host team to win the national championship
since the event adopted a tournament-style format in 1985.
In their semi-final, the Tigers got the game-winner from tournament Most Valuable Player Daniel Michalsky
just over two minutes into overtime to send the Lumber Kings home. Aurora needed a tying powerplay goal late
in the second period from Mark Thorburn, and strong goaltending from Tyler Gordon in the final 20 minutes to
get to the extra frame, where Michalsky played the hero.
Jason Yuel was the overtime goal scorer for the Spruce Kings, scoring at the 6:01 mark of the fifth
overtime to lead the hosts to the championship game. The game was the longest in RBC Royal Bank Cup history,
surpassing the 2005 semi-final between Weyburn and Hawkesbury, which ended after 56:54 of extra time. Spruce
Kings goaltender Jordan White made a remarkable 91 saves in the win, while Tyler Helfrich had three
assists.
The Tigers had the upper hand in the round robin meeting between the two teams, coming away with a 6-3 win
on Tuesday night. Despite losing the game, the Spruce Kings gave top-ranked Aurora a run, three times pulling
to within a goal but never able to get the equalizer. Prince George held the shots-on-goal advantage in the
penalty-filled game, 32-30.
The puck will drop for the gold medal game at 7:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, and can be seen on TSN/RDS, the
official broadcaster of Hockey Canada at 8:00 p.m. PT/11:00 p.m. ET.
» 2007 RBC Royal Bank Cup
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