Lumber Kings halt Vipers run at history
By Graeme Corbett - Vernon Morning Star
Published: May 11, 2011
CAMROSE – The longer the game went, the more it seemed like it would take a lucky bounce to determine the 2011 Royal Bank Cup national junior A champions Sunday at the Edgeworth Centre in Camrose.
It came in the form of a blocked shot and subsequent breakaway goal by Jonathan Milley as the Pembroke Lumber Kings of Ontario dethroned the two-time defending RBC champion Vernon Vipers with a 2-0 win in the gold-medal game.
After two scoreless periods of end-to-end hockey, Milley, who led tournament scoring with seven goals and nine points in six games, got a shin pad on Ryan Renz’s point shot and collected the loose puck at centre ice to go in alone on Kirby Halcrow, beating the Vernon netminder with 6:21 remaining in regulation.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Ottawa native added an empty-netter with 15 seconds to play to seal the Lumber Kings’ first-ever national title.
“Once I got that breakaway I knew I had to bury it. They were playing a good game and our goalie (Francis Dupuis) was keeping us in it,” said Milley.
“We knew we had this. We’ve been through way too much to not bare down and get this. I’m so glad for the boys.”
The Lumber Kings are the first East region team to be crowned national champions since the tournament went to its current five-team format in 1990. They lost national finals in 1973 (to the Portage Terriers) and 1977 (to the Prince Albert Raiders) when the East versus West best-of-seven format was still in use. They fell short in three other appearances (1987, 1988 and 2007).
Vernon missed an opportunity to earn a record seventh national championship – they claimed titles in 1990, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2009 and 2010. They also would have become the first team ever to post three straight national crowns. Sunday was the first time Vernon has lost when playing in a gold-medal game.
“The difference between winning and losing is that much, and sometimes you end up on the wrong end of it. But I’m extremely proud of our group. Not a lot of people would ever think we’d get this far,” said Vipers’ head coach Mark Ferner, who finished his fourth season behind the bench, assisted by Jason Williamson.
“It’s not easy right now, but hopefully it will make us a stronger organization, stronger players and better people. But a tough pill to swallow, obviously.”
Dupuis, Pembroke’s Game MVP, backstopped the Lumber Kings with just his second shutout of the season, stopping 40 Viper shots. The 20-year-old Orleans, Ont. net detective kept his team alive in the first period, when the Vipers outshot Pembroke 15-5, and was stellar again in the third frame as Vernon desperately tried to find an equalizer.
“Very good timing to get my second one (shutout) here. It’s unbelievable. I don’t even know what to think. It’s been a great ride all along and I was just happy I could focus for the boys tonight,” said Dupuis, who robbed Bryce Kakoske with a quick glove in the first period, and stretched cross-crease to get a toe on a Dave Robinson one-timer in the second.
After a tough start to the tournament, Dupuis – 12-1 on the regular season – said he was able to get his game on track in the playoffs.
“The round-robin was kind of iffy for me. I was fighting the puck for a few games there and it seems like in the semifinals and finals I just found my groove,” he said.
Halcrow, who stood tall in making 15 second-period stops, including a sensational split save on Kyle Just, recorded 22 saves in a fast-flowing game that featured just two minor penalties, both to the Lumber Kings.
After a lukewarm start to the tournament, Pembroke head coach Sheldon Keefe, a former Tampa Bay Lightning winger, said it wasn’t until they faced Vernon in their final round-robin game, a 5-2 loss, that his players really picked up their play.
“They came at us hard and I think that actually turned our tournament around. We had to raise our game…and by the end of that game we knew we could play against the best in this tournament,” said Keefe, who toted his newborn son, Landon, around the ice as the Lumber Kings celebrated their title.
He added: “We knew Vernon was going to push and we knew they were going to have their moments. They’re too good of a team not to.”
Vipers graduating from the program include defencemen Stevie Weinstein, Adam Thompson (Vernon Game MVP) and Malcolm Lyles, and forwards Robinson, Kakoske and Kyle Murphy. Ferner credited the returning veterans for helping the rookies. There could be as many as 16 returnees.
“They just showed them what it means to be a Vernon Viper and that bodes well for the future of the organization,” he said.
Thompson and forward Dylan Walchuk were named to the all star-team.
Understandably emotional, Robinson said it will take a while for the sting of defeat to fade, but once it does, he will look back on Vernon’s postseason charge with pride.
“If you look at our playoff run, it was pretty remarkable. Down 2-0 to Salmon Arm, down 2-1 to Westside, down 2-1 to Spruce Grove. It felt like it was meant to be, but in the end we unfortunately didn’t get a bounce,” said the classy Viper captain.
“It hurts right now, but in the end, when I look back on it, I think I will be pretty happy about it.”
When asked about his experience as captain, Robinson added: “It means everything to me. I couldn’t be more grateful for the chance that Mark and Jason and Duncan (Wray, owner) gave me. It’s been an unbelievable year being the captain in my hometown.”
In Saturday afternoon semifinal action, Kakoske collected goals in the first and second period as the Vipers grounded the Wellington Dukes of Ontario 4-1.
The Lumber Kings doubled tournament host Camrose Kodiaks 4-2 in the other semi.
Dukes defenceman Elliott Richardson, a former Viper, netted Wellington’s lone goal during a third-period powerplay, fooling Halcrow with a bouncing dump-in from behind the redline.
Vernon closed out the game with goals by Patrick McGillis and Robinson.
The Vipers peppered netminder Jordan Ruby with 39 shots, while Halcrow recorded 22 stops for the win.
SNAKE BITES: Forward Trevor Fitzgerald missed the gold-medal game after sustaining a concussion late in their semifinal against the Dukes…Viper fans held tailgate parties in the parking lot before their last few games. They cheered loudly as the Vipers left the dressing room and entered the main lobby.
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