2014 TELUS Cup

MINTOS OPEN TELUS CUP WITH WIN OVER YOUNG NATIONALS

DAVID BRIEN

MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Dakota Boutin had a goal and an assist to lead the offence, helping the Prince Albert Mintos to a 4-1 win over the Toronto Young Nationals in the opening game at the 2014 TELUS Cup on Monday afternoon.

The win is Prince Albert’s 15th in a row at Canada’s National Midget Championship, within three of the all-time record of 18 held by Ste-Foy from 1978-80.

Teal Sobkowicz, Lance Yaremchuk and Keegan Kjargaard also scored goals for Prince Albert, while Brody Reimer, Jared Blaquiere, Ryan Duret and Wyatt Grant all picked up assists.

Mintos netminder Connor Ingram stopped 30 of the 31 shots Toronto fired his way.

Boutin got Prince Albert on the board first when he intercepted a pass behind the Toronto net and wrapped the puck around Toronto goaltender Izzy Benigno at the 10:40 mark.

Less than five minutes later, Boutin played the set-up role, sliding on his knees and finding Yaremchuk all alone in the low slot. Yaremchuk’s initial chance was stopped, but he snuck a rebound under Benigno’s glove to double the Mintos’ lead.

Both teams had five-on-three opportunities in the first two periods, but Ingram and Benigno stood tall in their respective nets, keeping it a two-goal game.

The Young Nationals did manage to convert on the man advantage late in the second period, as Mac Graham buried a rebound off a Marco Bozzo shot at 14:52, but Prince Albert regained its two-goal advantage just 82 seconds later, on a Mintos power play, with Kjargaard banging in a loose puck in tight.

Sobkowicz capped the scoring on a breakaway early in the third period, snapping a shot over the glove of Benign.

The Mintos held a 39-31 advantage in shots on goal and both teams were busy on the power play; Prince Albert finished 2-for-9 with the man advantage, while Toronto had a goal on seven chances.

Prince Albert will go for a 2-0 start Tuesday afternoon against the Grenadiers de Châteauguay (noon MT), while Toronto tries again for its first win when it faces the Halifax McDonald’s in the day’s middle contest (4 p.m. MT).