QUISPAMSIS, N.B. – On the eve of the 2016 TELUS Cup’s semifinals, six players collected individual honours at the awards banquet for the 43rd edition of Canada’s National Midget Championship.

The awards are based on the tournament’s preliminary-round action and selected by a committee of volunteers.

The 2016 TELUS Cup award winners are:
TELUS Most Valuable Player – Mathias Laferrière (Lions du Lac St-Louis)
Top Goaltender – Sandro Silvestre (Lions du Lac St-Louis)
Top Forward – Adam Capannelli (Lions du Lac St-Louis)
Top Defensive Player – Ty Smith (Lloydminster Bobcats)
Most Sportsmanlike Player – Ty Gitzel (Saskatoon Contacts)
Top Scorer – Mathias Laferrière (Lions du Lac St-Louis)
Esso Scholarship – Ryan Porter (Dartmouth Major Midgets)

After an exciting week of preliminary-round play, the semifinals are set for Saturday, April 23.

The Lloydminster Bobcats (3-1-1), who took second place, will face the North York Rangers (3-2-0), who finished third, in the early semifinal at 2 p.m. AT/1 p.m. ET. The first-place Lions du Lac St-Louis (5-0-0) meet the fourth-place and host team Saint John Vito’s (2-2-1) in the late semifinal at 6 p.m. AT/5 p.m. ET. The Vito’s are the first team from New Brunswick to qualify to play in the medal-round at the TELUS Cup.

“We are very impressed with the local support throughout the week at the qplex and around the town of Quispamsis,” said Ed Pupich, a member of Hockey Canada’s Board of Directors. “The host committee and volunteers have done an amazing job of filling the building and involving schools to create an exciting atmosphere for the players. Without a doubt, the final two days will showcase great hockey and Quispamsis’ passion for the game.”

The gold-medal game will be played Sunday, April 24, at 5 p.m. AT/4 p.m. ET and will air on TSN 1 and TSN 3 (joined in progress) and RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcasters (check local listings for details). The bronze-medal game will be webcast live by FASTHockey at HockeyCanada.ca/TELUSCup. 

For more information on the TELUS Cup, visit HockeyCanada.ca/TELUSCup, or follow via social media on Facebook and Twitter.