The Excitement Returns For Murray:

This was in my RBC Cup Newsletter e-mail:

RBC CUP 2014 The Excitement Returns!

A publication of the Vernon RBC Cup Host Committee

February 14, 2014 Volume 3, Issue 2

The Excitement Returns For Murray

Our event slogan, "The Excitement Returns," has a special significance for Murray Caton, one of the heroes when Vernon hosted and won the national championship in 1990.

Do you remember how that game went? Do you remember that Vernon was trailing 5-2 to the heavily favoured New Westminster Royals at the end of the second period? To make matters worse, Vernon's veteran goaltender Dean Kuntz was assessed a five-minute major at the end of the period. During the intermission, sensing that Kuntz was still boiling and unfocused, Coach Ed Johnstone sent rookie 17-yearold Caton into net to start the third.

"I was scared beyond belief when Eddie told me," says Caton. "But the guys had a great kill. I might have faced one shot in those five minutes and Garth Geddes scored short handed. Then Duane Dennis was set up by David Oliver to make it 5-4. Late in the third, Cam Sylven tied it up and scored on a breakaway about four minutes into OT. The place went absolutely nuts!"

Caton went on to start in goal for the next two years as the Lakers went to the Centennial Cup twice more, repeating as champs in 1991. But nothing matches that home ice win, he says.

Now his son Blaine, who will turn 17 in April, will get a chance to experience the RBC Cup ride. Blaine, a lanky six-foot forward with the North Okanagan Knights is a Viper AP who occasionally practices with the Vipers and who will join Vernon when the Knights' season concludes.

"Blaine is very fortunate to be around a team going to the RBC Cup and I believe he knows that," says his father. "If they need to put him in the lineup, I think he'll be ready."

Murray Caton, who briefly played pro hockey before returning to Vernon, is now a manager at Tolko's Kelowna lumber mill. He believes that the current Viper squad "can go a long way in the playoffs this year if the fans can stay behind them. If they get strong fan support, they'll really respond. I think people sometimes forget that these kids are pretty young and positive support goes a long way."

"When we won in 1990, the crowd had a lot to do with it. Home ice is an advantage only if the fans are loud and totally into the game like they were at the Civic that night."