2019 NJAC Recap: May 18

From 133 teams to two, the championship game is set at the 2019 National Junior A Championship. The Brooks Bandits and Prince George Spruce Kings posted semifinal successes Saturday and will meet for the top prize.

BROOKS BANDITS 4, OTTAWA JR. SENATORS 3
Simon Boyko opened the scoring in the first period and set up the game-winning goal in the third, and the Bandits survived a wild third period to edge the Jr. Senators on Saturday afternoon. Brooks is the fifth-consecutive host team to reach the final, and will try to be the fourth from that group to win it all.

“I think we had a good start, getting the first goal, and then having home crowd behind us to power us through the last little bit was the difference. I think we faced some adversity with Prince George [in the Doyle Cup] and we’ve all had pretty much one-goal games here at the tournament. This game was the opposite, we had a team come back on us and that’s probably good for our guys.”
-- Ryan Papaioannou, Brooks head coach, on keys to winning its semifinal

PRINCE GEORGE SPRUCE KINGS 2, OAKVILLE BLADES 1
Nick Poisson and Ben Brar scored 1:45 apart in the second period, Logan Neaton made 32 saves and the Spruce Kings held off the Blades on Saturday night. Dylan Anhorn chipped in with a pair of assists for Prince George, which was outshot 18-6 in the third period and survived a five-minute penalty kill.

“Ben has really brought his game here, he’s been outstanding. You can see it in his eyes, his pre-game, shift in and shift out he’s been phenomenal. That whole line (with Dustin Manz and Patrick Cozzi) has been very good and they inspire their teammates and that’s what you need in tournaments like this.”
-- Adam Maglio, Prince George head coach, on the outstanding play of Brar

LEADING SCORERS
Dylan Anhorn (Prince George) 1G 6A 7P
Ben Brar (Prince George) 3G 3A 6P
Ryan Mahshie (Brooks) 2G 4A 6P
Spencer Kersten (Oakville) 1G 5A 6P
Dustin Manz (Prince George) 1G 5A 6P

LEADING GOALTENDERS
Logan Neaton (Prince George) 4-1 / 0.93 GAA / .960 SV%
Pierce Charleson (Brooks) 5-0 / 2.20 GAA / .882 SV%
Francis Boisvert (Ottawa) 1-4 / 2.68 GAA / .916 SV%
Chris Elliot (Oakville) 1-0 / 3.43 GAA / .879 SV%
Nathan Moore (Portage) 0-3 / 3.51 GAA / .894 SV%

STAR OF THE DAY
Simon Boyko – Brooks Bandits

NEXT GAME
Prince George Spruce Kings vs. Brooks Bandits (3 p.m. MT) – STATISTICS & WEBCAST