The Woodstock Slammers have advanced to the RBC Cup gold medal game for the first time in team history.
The Slammers also became the first team in their league (the Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) to advance to the RBC Cup Final since the Halifax Oland Exports claimed the national championship in 2002.
They are also the second consecutive East Region squad to compete on the final Sunday. The Pembroke Lumber Kings were the RBC Cup champions last year.
Nick Huard was assessed a two-minute minor penalty for hooking at 16:07 in the first period, giving the Broncos a man advantage. The host team was determined to utilize fully on the power play, which they did. Humboldt's power play resulted in a goal netted by Ryan Marshall at 17:52.
Phillip Fife received a goaltender interference penalty at 18:28, allowing the Broncos another power play. John Lawrence used the extra man opportunity to increase the score to 2-0 in Humboldt's favour, scoring an unassisted power play goal on Matt Murphy at 19:21. Humboldt ended the first period with a two-goal lead as a result.
Tim Campbell got the Slammers on the scoreboard at 4:44 in the middle frame. Campbell received a pass from Evan Carmody and Ben Miller and slipped a shot past Broncos guard Matt Hrynkiw, reducing the deficit to one.
Adam Zbitniff was sent to the penalty box for interference at 7:50, allowing the Slammers a power play. The Slammers were not willing to waste this man advantage situation, and Campbell deadlocked the score at two with twenty three seconds remaining in the power play. Zach Shannon and Carmody provided the assist.
Logan Sproule broke the deadlock at 18:47, restoring a lead for the Broncos to end the second period.
Sam Caldwell tied the contest at three apiece on a power play at 6:24 in the third period. Caldwell's goal was the lone goal of period three, which made sudden death overtime necessary.
The Slammers had no intentions of using more extra time than necessary, nor did they want to come home without even finishing second. Connor Tresham passed to Ben MacSwain, and MacSwain beat Hrynkiw only thirty five seconds into the overtime period.
Of 24 shots faced, Matt Murphy refused 21 of them for the win, while Hrynkiw blocked 39 of 43 shots faced for the loss.
Fittingly, Tim Campbell was named Player of the Game for the Slammers. Campbell scored twice and racked up one assist, for a total of three points in the semi-final contest on Saturday, May 12th. Ryan Marshall received the Player of the Game award for Humboldt. Marshall scored once and earned one assist
for a total of two points.
 |
| Slammers captain Andrew Langan collides with Josh Roach of the Humboldt Broncos in the RBC Cup semi-final match on Saturday, May 12th. The Slammers edged the host Broncos 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Dylan Lynch - Hockey Canada Images) |
 |
| Slammers from left: Ryan Purvis, Sam Renault, Connor Tresham and Bradley Greene. (Photo by Dylan Lynch - Hockey Canada Images) |
As a result of the semi-final victory, the Slammers will advance to the RBC Cup Final tonight. The gold medal contest will be broadcast on TSN2/RDS beginning at 8:30 pm Atlantic time. Woodstock will face the Penticton Vees. Penticton is the only squad the Slammers defeated in prelim play. On paper, the Slammers hold a 1-0 record against the Vees, defeating Penticton 4-1 on Monday, May 7th.
The Slammers head into the RBC final with a 2-3-0 record. Noah Zilbert leads the squad in goals with three. Connor Tresham and Tim Campbell lead the Slammers in total points with four.
In goaltending, Matt Murphy has over 249 minutes of RBC experience and a 2-2 RBC record to add to his resume. Murphy has a 0.911 save percentage and a 3.37 goals against average. Sam Renault, on the other hand, has just over 48 minutes of playing experience at the RBC Cup and a 0-1 win-loss record. Renault possesses a 0.818 save percentage and a 2.48 goals against average.
Slammers in RBC Standings
Andrew Langan currently sits in fourth in scoring in the RBC tournament with two goals, while Nick Huard sits fourth in assists with four.
Matt Murphy's 0.911 save percentage places him in fifth place in the tournament ranks.
MacSwain named RBC Star of the Day
Ben MacSwain, the overtime hero for the Slammers on Saturday afternoon, was named the Star of the Day for Saturday, May 12th at the RBC Cup.
The Charlottetown native and former Miramichi Timberwolf scored the game winner thirty five seconds into OT on Saturday afternoon against the host Humboldt Broncos.
The RBC Cup website described MacSwain's feat as something that will "forever be a part of hockey lore in Woodstock, NB, for scoring the biggest goal in Slammers history--the overtime winner to give Woodstock a 4-3 victory over the Humboldt Broncos and send the Maritime Hockey League champions to the championship game at the 2012 RBC Cup."
MacSwain is not the only Slammer to be named Star of the Day at the 2012 RBC Cup. Robert Visca was named Star of the Day on Monday, May 7th, when the Slammers defeated the Penticton Vees 4-1 in preliminary action.
Visca scored just fifty five seconds into Monday's contest and assisted the Slammers' second goal, netted by Andrew Langan fifteen minutes later.
With files from www.hockeycanada.ca
No comments:
Post a Comment