Sunday, May 9, 2010

(Game Preview) Royal Bank Cup Final: Vernon @ Dauphin:


Game Preview: Vernon (4-1) @ Dauphin (5-0)

Last Game Played:

Saturday May 8th Vernon defeated Brockville 2-0
Saturday May 8th Dauphin defeated La Ronge 6-2

The Fred Page Cup & Doyle Cup Champion Vernon Vipers & MJHL & Anavet Cup Champion Dauphin Kings meet in the Royal Bank Cup for the second time. Vernon is playing in it's 8th National Championship, going for a record 6 National Championship. Dauphin is in just it's 1st RBC Cup and looking at winning it's first National Championship. You can listen to todays game live with Todd Miller on 107.5 Kiss FM starting at 11:45am Todays game will also be live on TSN 2 starting at 12pm (Pacific)

Here's a look back at the only other meeting between these two teams,

Kellen Jones & Braden Pimm gave Vernon a 2-0 lead before Colton Graf with a late goal made it 2-1. Cody Esposito would tie the game in the 2nd before Kellen Jones & Mike Collins would re give the Vipers a two goal lead heading into the 3rd. Troy Hunter & Cody Esposito would once again tie the game before David Robinson would re give the Vipers another lead. Zeenan Ziemer would tie the game sending it to overtime. Just 42 seconds in Mathew Backhouse scored the game winner giving the Kings the 6-5 OT win.

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php?ci_id=11728&la_id=1&ss_id=25063&game_id=1710

Lets take a look at both teams,

Vernon Vipers: (4-1)

# N ame P S /C H t. W t. Born Hometown

30 Blake Voth G L/G 5’10” 170 12/27/91 Herbert, Sask.
35 Graeme Gordon G L/G 6’2” 183 04/15/89 North Vancouver, B.C./C.-B.
3 Garrett Noonan D L/G 6’1” 205 01/28/91 Norfolk, Mass.
6 Darrin Robak D R/D 6’2” 180 11/05/91 Red Deer, Alta./Alb.
7 Dan Nycholat D L/G 6’2” 190 06/04/89 Calgary, Alta./Alb.
8 Curtis Gedig D L/G 6’3” 190 09/14/91 West Kelowna, B.C./C.-B.
21 Kevin Kraus D L/G 6’2” 205 09/05/89 Garden Grove, Calif.
24 Steven Weinstein D L/G 5’9” 165 08/13/90 Los Angeles, Calif.
28 Adam Thompson D R/D 6’1” 190 06/27/90 Calgary, Alta./Alb.
5 Mike Collins F/A L/G 6’0” 180 05/25/90 Boston, Mass.
9 Dylan Walchuk F/A L/G 5’9” 170 02/04/92 McBride, B.C./C.-B.
10 Connor Jones F/A L/G 5’9” 165 08/16/90 Montrose, B.C./C.-B.
11 Cory Kane F/A L/G 6’3” 190 09/15/90 Irvine, Calif.
12 Cole Ikkala F/A L/G 6’1” 195 07/27/90 Philadelphia, Penn.
14 Braden Pimm F/A L/G 6’0” 175 12/28/89 Fort St. John, B.C./C.-B.
15 Kellen Jones F/A L/G 5’9” 165 08/16/90 Montrose, B.C./C.-B.
17 Sahir Gill F/A L/G 5’10” 180 04/21/92 Terrace, B.C./C.-B.
18 David Robinson F/A R/D 5’10” 170 06/09/90 Vernon, B.C./C.-B.
19 Jonathan Milhouse F/A R/D 5’10” 170 01/30/89 Yorba Linda, Calif.
20 Rob Short F/A R/D 6’0” 200 06/05/89 Coldstream, B.C./C.-B.
27 Bryce Kakoske F/A L/G 6’1” 200 04/27/90 Vernon, B.C./C.-B.
29 Patrick McGillis F/A L/G 5’10” 185 03/14/91 Calgary, Alta./Alb.

Head Coach & General Manager/Entraîneur-chef et directeur général . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark Ferner
Assistant Coach & Assistant General Manager/
Entraîneur adjoint et directeur général adjoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jason Williamson
Equipment Manager/Responsable de l’équipement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gord Cochran
Trainer/Soigneur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lon Fraser

REGULAR SEASON

RECORD – 51-6-0-3 (1st in British Columbia Hockey League)
GOALS FOR – 298 (1st)
GOALS AGAINST – 119 (1st)
TOP SCORER – Connor Jones (36g 45a 81p)

PLAYOFFS

PRELIMINARY ROUND – bye
QUARTER-FINAL – defeated Quesnel Millionaires
4-2 (6-2, 2-4, 8-4, 1-3, 4-0, 5-0)
SEMIFINAL – defeated Penticton Vees 4-2 (6-0,
3-2 OT, 0-4, 5-0, 2-3 3OT, 4-1)
BCHL CHAMPIONSHIP – defeated Powell River
Kings 4-3 (2-1, 1-3, 0-4, 4-2, 4-2, 2-5, 3-1)
DOYLE CUP – defeated Spruce Grove Saints (5-6
OT, 3-2, 3-2 2OT, 6-3, 1-3, 2-3, 7-3)

PREVIOUS NJAC EXPERIENCE

2009 (Victoria, B.C.) – CHAMPIONS –
6W-0L; 32GF 15GA
1999 (Yorkton, Sask.) – CHAMPIONS –
3W-3L; 23GF 20GA
1996 (Melfort, Sask.) – CHAMPIONS –
4W-2L; 26 GF 20GA
1992 (Winnipeg, Man.) – 3RD –
3W-2L; 25GF 22GA
1991 (Sudbury, Ont.) – CHAMPIONS –
4W-2L; 29GF 29GA
1990 (Vernon, B.C.) – CHAMPIONS –
5W-1L; 36GF 19GA
1989 (Summerside, P.E.I.) – 4TH –
0W-3L; 8GF 18GA

REGULAR SEASON/SAISON RÉGULIÈRE

# N ame P GP G A P PIM

10 Connor Jones F/A 51 36 45 81 40
5 Mike Collins F/A 59 30 46 76 43
14 Braden Pimm F/A 59 25 43 68 75
11 Cory Kane F/A 60 22 33 55 46
19 Jonathan Milhouse F/A 56 19 34 53 24
15 Kellen Jones F/A 41 12 41 53 18
20 Rob Short F/A 52 22 28 50 36
9 Dylan Walchuk F/A 56 19 28 47 20
12 Cole Ikkala F/A 58 22 23 45 30
7 Dan Nycholat D 58 7 38 45 41
27 Bryce Kakoske F/A 59 13 28 41 14
21 Kevin Kraus D 56 5 22 27 70
18 David Robinson F/A 20 15 10 25 23
28 Adam Thompson D 57 5 20 25 22
24 Steve Weinstein D 60 4 18 22 0
8 Curtis Gedig D 53 11 10 21 20
29 Patrick McGillis F/A 39 7 14 21 13
3 Garrett Noonan D 58 2 16 18 60
17 Sahir Gill F/A 17 3 9 12 6
6 Darrin Robak D 17 2 5 7 25

# N ame P GP MIN GA GAA SO W -L-T

30 Blake Voth G 24 1,445 43 1.79 3 21-2-0
35 Graeme Gordon G 37 2,184 75 2.06 1 30-7-0

PLAYOFFS/SÉRIES ÉLIMINATOIRES

# N ame P GP G A P PIM

10 Connor Jones F/A 26 15 15 30 24
15 Kellen Jones F/A 26 8 19 27 16
17 Sahir Gill F/A 26 7 13 20 8
19 Jonathan Milhouse F/A 26 7 8 15 4
14 Braden Pimm F/A 26 6 9 15 13
20 Rob Short F/A 26 7 7 14 16
11 Cory Kane F/A 26 5 9 14 16
5 Mike Collins F/A 26 5 9 14 18
18 David Robinson F/A 26 5 7 12 21
7 Dan Nycholat D 26 3 9 12 28
12 Cole Ikkala F/A 26 7 4 11 10
24 Steve Weinstein D 26 0 11 11 8
21 Kevin Kraus D 26 2 8 10 20
28 Adam Thompson D 26 3 6 9 20
8 Curtis Gedig D 26 1 8 9 10
27 Bryce Kakoske F/A 22 3 3 6 8
3 Garrett Noonan D 26 3 3 6 22
9 Dylan Walchuk F/A 26 2 4 6 9
29 Patrick McGillis F/A 5 0 1 1 0

# N ame P GP MIN GA GAA SO W -L

35 Graeme Gordon G 24 1,492 55 2.21 4 15-9
30 Blake Voth G 3 136 7 3.08 0 1-1

RBC Cup Scoring:

Kellen Jones (3-3-6)
Jonathan Milhouse (2-3-5)
Sahir Gill (2-3-5)
David Robinson (4-0-4)
Curtis Gedig (1-3-4)
Cole Ikkala (2-1-3)
Mike Collins (1-2-3)
Braden Pimm (1-2-3)
Adam Thompson (1-1-2)
Connor Jones (1-1-2)

Graeme Gordon (3-1 Record, 2.75 GAA)
Blake Voth (1-0 Record, 2.00 GAA)

Here’s a write up along with the box score’s from Saturday's semi-final game,

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php?ci_id=11728&la_id=1&ss_id=25063&game_id=1719

The Vipers finished off the round-robin at 3-1. Let's take a look at how they did,

Saturday May 1st Lost to Dauphin 6-5 (Overtime)
Sunday May 2nd defeated La Ronge 4-2
Tuesday May 4th defeated Oakville 5-3
Wednesday May 5th defeated Brockville 4-2
Saturday May 8th (semi-final) defeated Brockville 2-0

The Vipers are looking at repeating as National Champions since the 1990-1991 Vernon Lakers last repeated as Champs. Vernon is heading back to the Royal Bank Cup for the second year in a row. No team has won back to back National Championships since the 1990-1991 Vernon Lakers. Last year the Humboldt Broncos went back to the RBC for a chance to win back to back titles but lost in the final to Vernon 2-0.

After finishing off the round-robin at 3-1 the Vipers have now won four straight with a 2-0 win in yesterday's semi-final vs Brockville. Vernon now has a chance to win its sixth National Championship with a win over Dauphin today. Vernon is 5-0 in National Finals. Most teams have never made it the National Chmapionship before, some teams have made it once or twice and never won. The Vipers & last years Humboldt Broncos did something that dosnt happen very often and thats make it to the RBC Cup back to back years with a shot at winning it back to back. This is a long haul folks, if you think back from the Vipers first pre season game way back in August, these kids have played alot of hockey. The hard fought battles and long bus trips these kids have had to take just to get here is incredible. Just to make it to the RBC Cup is very special but to have a chance to win it back to back and be the first team since 1990-1991 is very special. These kind of teams dont come along very often, so enjoy this Vipers team while you can, cheer them on hard because who knows the next time the Vipers will be back.

Here's a list of Vipers that will be playing their final game in a Viper uniform today,

Connor Jones
Kellen Jones
Sahir Gill
Jonathan Milhouse
Rob Short
Dan Nycholat
Cory Kane
Cole Ikkala
Braden Pimm
Mike Collins
Curtis Gedig
Kevin Kraus
Graeme Gordon

Let’s take a look at the key’s to today’s contest,

-The 13 players from last years RBC Cup winning team have the experience, leadership and know what it takes to win in the RBC & the RBC Cup Final. That alone is key going into todays game.

-Graeme Gordon is going to have to be at his best today, the Vipers need the big save in the big game if Vernon wants to win its 6th National Title.

-Vernon needs to play a full 60 minutes

-The Vipers need to break the game down, and try and win one period at a time. Go period by period.

-the 13 players from last years Championship team have to step up and guide the way this afternoon, lead by example and take charge. For most of them this is there last Junior Hockey game.

-The Vipers have played in back to back Game sevens to get to the Royal Bank Cup with wins over Powell River & Spruce Grove, so the players know what it takes to win in a do or die situation.

-Vernon needs to get lots of puck and traffic towards Joe Caligiuri

-The Vipers need to shut down the Kings top players. (Bryce Lamb, Shane Luke, Ryan Dreger, & Zeenan Ziemer)

-Vernon's defence has to sharp as the Kings are very dangerous with the puck in and around net, this is where they score alot of there goals from, is down low.

-Scoring the games first goal will be huge, Vernon has scored the first goal in four out of there five games. The Vipers need to try and slow the game down early and take the sell-out crowd out of todays game.

-The Vipers need to capitalize on the powerplay, they cant be throwing away man advantages in a big game like this.

-Holding the lead. This will also be key for the Vipers, who for some reason has had troubles holding the lead late in hockey games during these playoffs & RBC Cup. Remember the Vipers had two, two goal leads as well as a late lead in the 3rd vs Dauphin during the round-robin but couldnt hold the lead and ended up falling in overtime.

-The Vipers who are very dangerous down low on the forecheck and cycle, need to use this and there speed to there advantage. When Vernon plays with the forecheck and cycle they are ery hard to beat.

Dauphin Kings (5-0)

# N ame P S /C H t. W t. Born Hometown

29 Brett Willows G L/G 5’9” 177 01/12/90 Rivers, Man.
35 Joe Caligiuri G L/G 5’10” 165 04/19/89 Winnipeg, Man.
-- Tyler Oswald AP G L/G 5’11” 170 04/03/93 Samford, Man.
3 Dallas Drysdale D R/D 6’5” 207 04/23/91 Dauphin, Man.
4 Mathew Backhouse D L/G 6’3” 180 02/28/91 Thompson, Man.
5 Tyler Gaudry D L/G 6’1” 180 10/05/91 Stonewall, Man.
6 Colin Paull D L/G 5’11” 185 08/02/90 Elkhorn, Man.
7 Joel Kot D R/D 5’11” 190 08/20/90 Moose Jaw, Sask.
17 Mike Boese D R/D 5’11” 186 07/04/90 Hermantown, Minn.
21 Steven Shamanski D R/D 6’0” 190 10/13/89 Carberry, Man.
27 Patrick Kozyra D R/D 6’2” 190 01/24/89 Sherwood Park, Alta./Alb.
-- Tanner Butler AP D L/G 5’11” 175 08/03/93 Souris, Man.
-- Joel Edmundson AP D L/G 6’3” 182 06/28/93 Brandon, Man.
9 Justin Michaud F/A R/D 6’2” 220 06/26/89 Selkirk, Man.
11 Angus Klassen F/A L/G 6’0” 170 03/23/90 Rosenfeld, Man.
12 Bryce Lamb F/A L/G 5’11” 185 10/16/89 Killarney, Man.
13 Travis Cech F/A R/D 5’9” 180 01/14/90 Rocky Mountain House, Alta./Alb.
14 Cody Esposito F/A L/G 6’4” 210 02/18/89 Airdrie, Alta./Alb.
15 Troy Hunter F/A R/D 6’2” 197 02/20/90 Virden, Man.
16 Devin Mitzner F/A L/G 5’11” 205 04/02/90 Strathmore, Alta./Alb.
18 Mitch Czibere F/A L/G 6’0” 193 02/15/89 Fort Saskatchewan, Alta./Alb.
19 Colton Graf F/A L/G 5’11” 225 02/11/90 Watson, Sask.
20 Shane Luke F/A L/G 5’11” 160 06/05/90 Ste. Rose du Lac, Man.
24 Ryan Dreger F/A R/D 5’9” 150 05/21/89 Dauphin, Man.
74 Zeanan Ziemer F/A L/G 5’8” 173 03/14/89 Brandon, Man.
-- Bryn Chyzyk AP F/A L/G 5’10” 170 11/05/92 Virden, Man.
-- Derek Falloon AP F/A R/D 5’9” 155 02/02/93 Russell, Man.
-- Regan Hedley AP F/A L/G 5’10” 160 03/24/92 Dauphin, Man.
-- Jared Morris AP F/A L/G 6’1” 200 02/06/93 La Salle, Man.
-- Jeremy Olynik AP F/A R/D 6’1” 170 03/06/92 Winnipeg, Man.
-- Michael Sofillas AP F/A L/G 5’9” 170 05/15/93 Morden, Man.
-- Mitch Vanteeling AP F/A L/G 6’0” 175 05/13/93 Brandon, Man.

Head Coach & General Manager/Entraîneur-chef et directeur général . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marlin Murray
Assistant Coach/Entraîneur adjoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Anning
Assistant Coach/Entraîneur adjoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scott McCallum
Goalie Coach/Entraîneur des gardiens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Bray
Trainer & Equipment Manager/Soigneur et responsable de l’équipement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tyrol Deeg
Assistant Equipment Manager/Responsable adjoint de l’équipement . . . . . . . . . . . . Jonathon Foster

REGULAR SEASON

RECORD – 50-11-1-0 (1st in Manitoba Junior Hockey League)
GOALS FOR – 296 (1st)
GOALS AGAINST – 169 (1st)
TOP SCORER – Shane Luke (29g 72a 101p)

PLAYOFFS

QUARTER-FINAL – defeated Neepawa Natives 4-0
(9-1, 2-1, 4-1, 5-3)
SEMIFINAL – defeated Swan Valley Stampeders
4-1 (5-2, 5-2, 12-2, 2-3, 4-3)
MJHL CHAMPIONSHIP – defeated Winnipeg Saints
4-0 (1-0 OT, 6-1, 1-0 2OT, 5-4)
ANAVET CUP – defeated La Ronge Ice Wolves 4-1
(3-5, 7-6 2OT, 4-1, 5-3, 6-1)

PREVIOUS NJAC EXPERIENCE

NONE

REGULAR SEASON/SAISON RÉGULIÈRE

# N ame P GP G A P PIM

20 Shane Luke F/A 62 29 72 101 36
24 Ryan Dreger F/A 61 53 46 99 37
12 Bryce Lamb F/A 60 38 51 89 128
74 Zeanan Ziemer F/A 48 25 51 76 121
21 Steven Shamanski D 62 19 52 71 70
18 Mitch Czibere F/A 46 22 29 51 41
14 Cody Esposito F/A 43 23 18 41 83
19 Colton Graf F/A 56 17 24 41 38
15 Troy Hunter F/A 56 11 21 32 100
27 Patrick Kozyra D 51 5 27 32 13
4 Mathew Backhouse D 62 1 23 24 28
17 Mike Boese D 62 2 19 21 24
16 Devin Mitzner F/A 19 10 8 18 36
11 Angus Klassen F/A 53 10 8 18 26
13 Travis Cech F/A 35 7 11 18 83
3 Dallas Drysdale D 53 1 15 16 122
9 Justin Michaud F/A 52 6 9 15 147
5 Tyler Gaudry D 48 2 10 12 36
6 Colin Paull D 47 3 8 11 32
7 Joel Kot D 14 1 10 11 12
-- Jared Morris F/A 1 0 0 0 0
-- Michael Sofillas F/A 1 0 0 0 0

# N ame P GP MIN GA GAA SO W -L-T

35 Joe Caligiuri G 36 2,267 98 2.59 1 29-7-0
29 Brett Willows G 26 1,480 69 2.80 2 21-5-0

PLAYOFFS/SÉRIES ÉLIMINATOIRES

# N ame P GP G A P PIM

21 Steven Shamanski D 18 10 18 28 22
12 Bryce Lamb F/A 18 10 14 24 14
74 Zeanan Ziemer F/A 18 8 15 23 14
20 Shane Luke F/A 18 12 8 20 6
24 Ryan Dreger F/A 18 6 14 20 22
18 Mitch Czibere F/A 18 10 9 19 16
7 Joel Kot D 18 4 15 19 12
15 Troy Hunter F/A 18 9 8 17 27
27 Patrick Kozyra D 18 1 12 13 4
16 Devin Mitzner F/A 16 5 7 12 6
17 Mike Boese D 18 0 11 11 10
14 Cody Esposito F/A 14 6 2 8 8
19 Colton Graf F/A 16 1 7 8 0
11 Angus Klassen F/A 9 1 2 3 2
3 Dallas Drysdale D 18 1 2 3 18
6 Colin Paull D 18 0 3 3 0
13 Travis Cech F/A 13 1 1 2 7
9 Justin Michaud F/A 18 1 1 2 21
5 Tyler Gaudry D 7 0 2 2 2
4 Mathew Backhouse D 15 0 1 1 4

# N ame P GP MIN GA GAA SO W -L

35 Joe Caligiuri G 17 1018 32 1.89 2 15-2
29 Brett Willows G 2 118 7 3.55 0 1-0

RBC Cup Scoring:

Ryan Dreger (1-7-8)
Shane Luke (6-1-7)
Steven Shamanski (2-4-6)
Bryce Lamb (4-1-5)
Zeenan Ziemer (2-3-5)
Cody Esposito (2-2-4)
Mitch Czibere (2-2-4)
Mathew Backhouse (1-1-2)

Joe Caligiuri (3-0 Record, 3.00 GAA)
Brett Willows (2-0 Record, 3.00 GAA)

Here’s a write up along with the box score’s from Saturday's semi-final game,

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php?ci_id=11728&la_id=1&ss_id=25063&game_id=1720

The Kings finished off the round-robin at 4-0. Let's take a look at how they did,

Saturday May 1st defeated Vernon 6-5 (Overtime)
Monday May 3rd defeated Brockville 3-2
Tuesday May 4th defeated La Ronge 3-2
Wednesday May 5th defeated Oakville 5-4
Saturday May 8th (semi-final) defeated La Ronge 6-2

Dauphin went 4-0 during the round-robin and now are 5-0 with a 6-2 win over La Ronge in yesterday's semi-final. The Kings will have a chance to become the first host team since Weyburn in 2005 to win the national championship, and the first hosts since Halifax in 2002 to do it undefeated. The Kings will be looking to do what the Vipers did last year and thats knock off the defending champions. The Kings did a heck of a job in putting this team together, will all the recruiting and trades they made through out the season pull off? You can fans are in for a heck of a hockey game this afternoon.

Let’s take a look at the key’s to today’s contest,

-The Kings who are 5-0 have some advantage with the home rink and sell-out crowd as well as only losing two games at the Credit Union Place all season. This is where Dauphin is very strong and need to use the home rink to there advantage.

-Dauphin has yet to see Connor Jones who made his return to the Vipers lineup yesterday, the Kings will have to try and shutdown the Vipers top line of Connor Jones, Kellen Jones and Sahir Gill.

-The Kings need to get lots of traffic and pucks on Graeme Gordon.

-Specialty teams and goaltending will be key.

-Scoring the games first goal will also be key.

-After playing in the night game last night, will the Kings be up and ready to battle in the afternoon game today?

-Dauphin has yet to play an afternoon game at the RBC Cup, as Vernon has now played in three straight afternoon games. Does this help or make a difference?

-Dauphin will rely on there top line of Shane Luke, Ryan Dreger & Bryce Lamb.

-The Kings will be looking for the big save when needed from Joe Caligiuri.

For more info and stats on the Royal Bank Cup, check out the RBC website,

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php/ci_id/25056/la_id/1.htm

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