2008 National U18 Club Championship

Winnipeg Thrashers  5 -  Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves  4

 

THRASHERS WRAP UP TOP SPOT WITH WIN OVER WOLVES

It might be the easiest game-winning goal Mark Stone will ever score.

Knowing that nothing less than a win would be good enough for top spot, Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves head coach Peter Michelutti Jr. pulled goaltender Landon Noel in the dying seconds of a 4-4 tie and Stone hit the empty net to give the Winnipeg Thrashers a 5-4 win on Friday.

The victory gives Winnipeg a perfect round-robin record – the third straight West Region champion to go 5-0 at the TELUS Cup – and first place, and sets up a semi-final match-up (Saturday ay 2:00 p.m. ET) with the fourth-place finisher – one of Ottawa Valley, Cole Harbour and Séminaire Saint-François.

The Wolves suffered their first loss of the National Midget Championship and will face the Calgary Buffaloes in Saturday’s late semi-final (7:30 p.m. ET).

The Central Region representatives got off to a quick start, as Deven Stillar scooped up a loose puck in front of Winnipeg netminder Joey Rewucki and put it home for a 1-0 Sudbury lead.

That lead stood through the first 20 minutes, despite the Thrashers holding a massive 11-3 advantage in shots on goal.

Craig Laliberte pushed the lead to 2-0 just 4:49 into the second period, intercepting a pass at the Winnipeg blueline and snapping a shot under the arm of Rewucki, but the Thrashers’ vaunted powerplay got them on the board just 48 seconds later, as Stone tipped a Nolan Zajac point shot past Noel.

The early comeback was complete just past the 13-minute mark, as David Conrad converted on another powerplay, taking advantage of a Noel mistake behind the net to score into an empty net.

The teams traded powerplay goals in the final minutes of the second period – P.J. Taus scored for Sudbury, while Conrad replied with his second man advantage marker of the period for Winnipeg – sending the game to the dressing room tied 3-3.

With the Thrashers on another powerplay to begin the third period – they had 13 opportunities, compared to nine for the Wolves – it was Sudbury who would strike, as Stefan Herrington redirected a centering pass from captain Mathieu Lecours past Rewucki to restore the one-goal lead.

Facing just their second loss in 58 games the Thrashers turned to their captain, as Mathew Bodie sent a seeing-eye shot from the blueline over the shoulder of Noel to tie the game at 4-4, setting up Stone’s winner, which was another powerplay goal.

Conrad took home player of the game honours for the Thrashers, while Devin Lockeyer was the recipient for the Wolves.

 

Game Information
Game Number 14  Round Round Robin
Arena Nick Smith Centre City, Country Arnprior, Ont., Canada
Month / Day / Year 04/25/2008 Time (local) 01:00 PM ET
Attendance 697 Game Status Final

Box Score   1     2     3   Total
Winnipeg Thrashers (HST) 0 3 2 5
Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves (CEN) 1 2 1 4
Goals/Penalties
First Period
Goals:
   03:38 CEN 24 Deven Stillar (15 Craig Laliberte, 10 Devin Lockeyer)

Penalties:
   01:17 CEN 7 Kenton Valliant (Interference)
   06:24 HST 5 Jeff Weselake (Holding Opp. Stick)
   07:51 HST 3 Jesse Pearson (Hooking)
   08:12 CEN 14 Denis Restoule (Holding Opp. Stick)
   11:41 HST 4 Alex Kampen (Boarding)
   12:21 CEN 19 P.J. Taus (Holding Opp. Stick)
   17:24 CEN 7 Kenton Valliant (Cross Checking)

Second Period
Goals:
   04:49 CEN 15 Craig Laliberte
   05:37 HST 14 Mark Stone (11 Nolan Zajac, 19 Corbin Baldwin) PP
   13:30 HST 20 David Conrad (8 Kyle Mulder) PP
   16:15 CEN 19 P.J. Taus (18 Ryan Sidun, 10 Devin Lockeyer) PP
   17:47 HST 20 David Conrad (8 Kyle Mulder, 2 Mathew Bodie) PP

Penalties:
   00:24 CEN 15 Craig Laliberte (Boarding)
   05:11 CEN 4 Dimitri Lacasse (Interference)
   08:22 HST 22 Jesse Hall (Slashing)
   12:21 CEN 10 Devin Lockeyer (Slashing)
   14:23 HST 16 Matt Glowa (Interference)
   16:23 CEN 10 Devin Lockeyer (Hooking)
   17:31 CEN 22 Kyllian Kirkwood (Cross Checking)
   19:56 CEN 14 Denis Restoule (Roughing)

Third Period
Goals:
   01:08 CEN 12 Stefan Herrington (26 Mathieu Lecours) SH
   11:36 HST 2 Mathew Bodie (22 Jesse Hall, 5 Jeff Weselake)
   19:50 HST 14 Mark Stone (22 Jesse Hall, 9 Robby Lazo) PP EN

Penalties:
   03:45 HST 12 Kyle Lee (Slashing)
   08:05 HST 21 Michael Hay (Roughing After Whistle)
   08:05 CEN 14 Denis Restoule (Roughing After Whistle)
   08:49 CEN 24 Deven Stillar (Kneeing)
   15:43 CEN 8 Alex Cooper (Roughing After Whistle)
   15:43 HST 14 Mark Stone (Interference)
   16:16 HST 10 Cole Pruden (Interference)
   17:05 HST 22 Jesse Hall (Hooking)
   18:01 CEN 14 Denis Restoule (10-Minute Misconduct)
   18:01 CEN 14 Denis Restoule (Roughing)


Goaltenders
Winnipeg Thrashers
1 Joey Rewucki On 1/00:00   Off 3/20:00
Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves
40 Landon Noel On 1/00:00   Off 3/19:45
40 Landon Noel On 3/19:51   Off 3/20:00

Shots on Goal   1     2     3   Total
Winnipeg Thrashers 11 9 11 31
Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves 3 5 8 16

Player of Game
Winnipeg Thrashers 20 David Conrad
Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves 10 Devin Lockeyer
Officials
Referee Tom Sweeney
Lines People Matt Carr, Matt Gervais

Videos
Photos
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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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