2008 Royal Bank Cup - Event

Event

The 2008 Royal Bank Cup was kicked off with an announcement from the CJAHL that is was shortening its name to the Canadian Junior Hockey League.

The first game of the tournament was between the Western Champion Humboldt Broncos and the Host Cornwall Colts. The Colts, who finished the season barely breathing and only played five playoff games, held the Broncos to only one goal in the first period. In the second period, the Colts fell apart and allowed six more goals on the next 16 shots over the last forty minutes. Humboldt's Laurent Benjamin scored a hat trick, while Taylor Nelson made 21 saves in the 7-0 shutout victory.

The early game on day two was between the Eastern Champion Weeks Crushers and the Pacific Champion Camrose Kodiaks. Weeks came out strong and took an early 1-0 lead, but the Crushers started taking a lot of penalties which killed their momentum. The Kodiaks scored five unanswered goals to win the game 5-1. In the late game, the Eastern Champion Oakville Blades challenged Cornwall. The Blades came out flat and left the first period down 2-0. Oakville returned on fire in the second period, scoring three goals in less than three and a half minutes. The momentum did not last, and the Colts took advantage by eventually pulling out an unexpected 5-4 victory.

On day three, the Kodiaks defeated the Broncos 2-1 in a very close game. The Broncos led the game until the final nine minutes by a score of 1-0, but the Kodiaks finally solved Taylor Nelson's 111+ minute shutout streak by score two quick goals to win the game. The late game placed the Oakville Blades against the Weeks Crushers. The Blades outshot the Crushers 49-25, but the Crushers kept it close and came from behind to tie it in the third period. The Crushers took advantage of a Too Many Men penalty in the extra frame as Geoff Hum scored a powerplay marker to win the game for the Crushers.

The only game of day four was between the Host Colts and the Fred Page Cup champion Weeks Crushers based in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. A strong opening period from the hometown Colts allowed for a 3-0 lead that was never breached by the Crushers. A lone goal by the Crushers in the second period would be as close as they would get to the Colts. Another three goal period by Cornwall in the final frame sealed the deal as the Colts skated to a 6-1 win.

On day five, the early game had the Oakville Blades, on the brink of elimination, versus the Humboldt Broncos. The Broncos blew three leads in the game; 1-0, 2-1, and 5-3; to allow the Blades to live another day with a 7-6 victory. The loss for the Broncos kills their ability to clinch a semi-final spot before their final game. The next game was between Cornwall and Camrose. Cornwall came out to send a message and caught the Kodiaks on their heels. Camrose came out with a tight 2-1 victory despite badly outshooting them. Because of Humboldt's loss, both Camrose and Cornwall clinch a spot in the semi-finals.

Despite the fact that they didn't play each other on day six, the day was a battle between Oakville and Humboldt. If Weeks defeated Humboldt, Oakville was in and Humboldt was out. If Oakville beat the undefeated Kodiaks in a game that meant nothing to them statistically, Humboldt was out and Oakville was in. If Humboldt won, they were in. If neither Weeks or Oakville won, Humboldt was in. The day began by the Humboldt showing their worth in a 4-1 victory over the Weeks Crushers. The day closed out with Camrose dismantling the Oakville Blades 6-1, even though the Blades outshot them.

After six days of play, the Oakville Blades were eliminated from the tournament by virtue of their head-to-head loss to the Weeks Crushers. The Blades were suspect in the goaltending department. Goalie Oliver Wren sported an 0.810 save percentage, the worst amongst starting goaltenders in the tourney. Wren came into the tournament cold, having barely played in Oakville's long playoff run. Season and Playoff long starter Scott Greenham, left the team in the middle of the Dudley Hewitt Cup and could not return due to NCAA eligibility issues.

Read more about this topic:  2008 Royal Bank Cup

Famous quotes containing the word event:

    The event combined with
    Beams leading up to it for the look of force adapted to the wiser
    Usages of age, but it’s both there
    And not there, like washing or sawdust in the sunlight,
    At the back of the mind, where we live now.
    John Ashbery (b. 1927)

    An event has happened, upon which it is difficult to speak, and impossible to be silent.
    Edmund Burke (1729–1797)

    It is known that Whistler when asked how long it took him to paint one of his “nocturnes” answered: “All of my life.” With the same rigor he could have said that all of the centuries that preceded the moment when he painted were necessary. From that correct application of the law of causality it follows that the slightest event presupposes the inconceivable universe and, conversely, that the universe needs even the slightest of events.
    Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)