CCHL WEEKLY REPORT

Seventh game drama again as Nepean edges Cornwall to win CCHL crown. Raiders open Fred Page Cup against Quebec champions Wednesday in Kanata

By JEFF MAGUIRE

The “Cardiac Kids” have done it again!

For the second consecutive series Nepean Raiders needed some Game 7 dramatics to win their Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) playoff set. Sunday afternoon’s 4-3 squeaker against Cornwall Colts at Nepean Sportsplex gave Raiders their first league championship since 2004.

They will open the Fred Page Cup (FPC) Eastern Canadian championship tournament in familiar territory Wednesday afternoon. Raiders will face Quebec champion Princeville Titan at Kanata Recreation Complex (KRC), the home arena of Raiders’ league rival, the Kanata Stallions. Face-off for the opening game of the competition is set for 4 p.m.

The other entrants in the four-team event are Woodstock (New Brunswick) Slammers, winners of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League final and the host Stallions. Those teams meet in the second game of the tournament Wednesday night. The opening ceremonies for the FPC will take place at 7:30, followed by the Stallions-Slammers clash.

Kanata will have to dig down deep in this tournament! They haven’t played a competitive game since early March, after failing to qualify for the CCHL playoffs.

Nepean, who compiled an impressive 46-11-4-1 mark during the regular season to easily claim the CCHL pennant, opened the post season with a sweep of eighth place Smiths Falls Bears in the quarter finals.

After that it was a much different story!

Raiders went the distance against five-time defending league champion Pembroke Lumber Kings before scoring a hard fought 3-1 triumph in Game 7 at Steve Yzerman Arena in the Sportsplex.

Lumber Kings, who captured their first ever Royal Bank Cup (RBC) national championship last spring, came out of sixth place this season to force the semi-final series with Nepean to the limit. In fact Raiders trailed 3-2 in games before rallying to win Games 6 and 7 in heart stopping fashion. They clinched the set with a 3-1 home ice victory April 8.

Cue a repeat in the league final!

Heading into Game 6 in Cornwall Friday night Nepean once again trailed 3-2 in games. They needed overtime to get past Colts and their sensational goalie Lukas Hafner 3-2 in overtime. Hafner made an incredible 55 saves!

Sunday, playing before the largest crowd this season at Steve Yzerman Arena – nearly 2,400 fans – Hafner nearly stole it for Colts. This time the workhorse net minder turned aside 42 Nepean scoring tries. Raiders dominated territorially, outshooting Cornwall 46-27.

MacLean notches winner

With the game deadlocked 3-3 late in the third period, winger Ryan MacLean triggered his second goal of the afternoon with 4:29 left in regulation. His fourth playoff marker wrapped up the title for Raiders!

Game 6 hero Ben Hutton set up the big goal Sunday. He also fired the OT winner in Cornwall Friday. Earlier in Sunday’s deciding contest the big defenceman triggered a go ahead goal for Raiders, late in the second period, which temporarily made it a 3-2 game.

Colts tied the game when right winger Kevin Hope netted his second of the afternoon and third of the post season at 9:31 of the third period.

Hope and Nepean forward Dalen Hedges had traded first period tallies. Hedges’ powerplay marker was his league high 11th of the playoffs.

Veteran forward Kyle Baun connected on a powerplay for Cornwall at 11:19 of the middle stanza to give the visitors a 2-1 edge.

MacLean, with his first and Hutton struck just under three minutes apart late in the second and Nepean nursed a one-goal lead into the final period before Hope struck to tie it up once again.

League playoff scoring leader Michael Borkowski set up two of his team’s markers to finish with a remarkable 29 points, including 21 assists, in 16 post season contests.

Nepean set-up man Kenneth Neil contributed three more helpers Sunday. One of the assists was on the game winner. Neil finished second in the playoff scoring derby with 23 points including 19 helpers.

Matt Zawadzki was his usual steady self in Raiders’ cage, turning aside 24 shots for the win.

There were just five minor penalties called in the well-played contest, three of those going to the home side. Each teams struck once on the powerplay.

The game was played in a remarkable two hours, four minutes!

Nepean head coach and general manager Peter Goulet is understandably thrilled with the Bogart-Nielsen Cup success.

“It’s a special feeling, that’s for sure,” he said Monday.

“Both were great series (semi-final and final).

“Kudos to my boys. They were unbelievable,” he underlines.

With so little time between the league final and the Fred Page Cup, Goulet and his coaching staff will be busy studying their upcoming opponents.

“Yes, we have to get it all figured out now. But we’re looking forward to it obviously.”

This isn’t his first taste of similar success. Goulet helped coach Kingston Voyageurs to the 2009 title in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. They went on to win the Dudley-Hewitt Cup, presented annually to the Central Canadian Junior A champions, in Schrieber, Ontario. That tournament win qualified Kingston for the RBC championship showdown in Victoria, British Columbia. Vernon Vipers of the B.C. Junior Hockey League won the Canadian tile that season.

As mentioned the FPC begins Wednesday and runs through Sunday at KRC. This marks the first time in the 18-year history of the competition that it’s being played in Ottawa, the nation’s capital. (Complete tournament details can be found by clicking on the logo which appears on the home page of this website!)

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Nepean won their second league crown in 2004. Raiders’ championship wins came back-to-back in 2003 and 2004. But Raiders have now appeared in the league final five times in eight seasons. Their previous shot at the title came in 2009 when they succumbed to Pembroke. Nepean joined the league in 1972.

Colts, who joined what is now the CCHL in 1988, have four league championships to their credit. They won back-to-back titles in 1995 and 1996 and again in 2000 and 2001.

This marks their second straight disappointment in the league final. Last spring they fell to eventual national champion Pembroke in six games.

Nepean won the FPC in 2004. In 1997, the third year of the tournament, Kanata (the team was then nicknamed Valley Lasers) was the tournament champions.

As mentioned the host Stallions fell just short in their bid to qualify for the CCHL playoffs this season. But they have been playing exhibition games in preparation for this week’s tournament.

The winner of the 2012 FPC will represent Eastern Canada at the RBC (national) championship tournament which will be played in Humboldt, Saskatchewan May 5-13.

The Nepean-Cornwall series featured all the ups and downs and thrills you can have in a hockey championship final!

Game 6, Nepean 3 – Cornwall 2 (OT): Hafner very nearly claimed Friday’s game himself with an absolutely brilliant performance in the Cornwall goal. But it was veteran defenceman Hutton who nailed down a vital victory for Nepean. Hutton, who was dealt to Raiders by Kemptville 73’s just before the January junior hockey trade deadline, blasted a powerplay goal past the overworked Hafner at 6:23 of the first overtime period to force the Bogart-Nielsen Cup to a seventh and deciding game. Hafner, a 20-year-old from Toledo, Ohio put on an awesome display, stopping 55 scoring tries as the visitors out shot Cornwall 58-22. Thanks to the Colts’ net minder, Nepean trailed 2-1 in the dying minutes of regulation. But with just 2:56 left, MacLean scored another crucial goal to force the teams to OT for a second consecutive game. Defenceman Stephen Johnson with his third goal of the post season and Cornwall playoff scoring sensation Borkowski, on a set-up from Johnson, had given the home team a 2-0 lead early in the first. Before the opening stanza ended, Nepean made the most of a powerplay chance. Forward Tanner Williams unleashed his third of the post season with 5:56 left in the period. It stayed that way through a scoreless second period highlighted by Hafner’s 13-save performance. He kicked out 20 shots in the first and made 16 more clearances in the third. MacLean, the fourth leading scorer in the league during the regular season, converted passes from Neil and Craig Cowie into the tying marker late in regulation. Nepean then dominated the extra session, out shooting Cornwall 7-1 and ending it on Hutton’s fourth playoff goal. Colts’ Baun was in the box for tripping when the winner came. There were just six minor penalties in the captivating contest, four of them going to the home team. Raiders were 2-4 with the man advantage. Zawadzki made 20 stops for the goaltending win, his 11th in 17 playoff appearances. A huge Cornwall crowd of 2,163 went home disappointed!

Game 5, Cornwall 6 – Nepean 5 (2 OT): The longest game of the CCHL playoffs to date was captured by Cornwall Wednesday, a double overtime triumph that left Colts one win away from their first league championship since 2001. Not surprisingly it was CCHL playoff scoring leader Borkowski who was the hero in the pivotal fifth game at Steve Yzerman Arena. He beat Dylan BrindAmour at 5:49 of the second overtime session to win it. The Spink brothers picked up assists on the play. Cornwall emerged triumphant after blowing a 4-1 lead in the third period. Raiders fought their way back into the contest, outscoring Colts 4-1 in the final regulation period. CCHL regular season scoring champ Cowie triggered his third playoff goal with just 1:50 left to force overtime. Mark Rath had opened scoring for Cornwall midway through the first. Hedges got the equalizer for Nepean at 7:02 of the second on a powerplay. Colts appeared to take command of the contest, scoring three unanswered before the middle period was over. Baun and Tylor Spink netted man advantage markers while centre Marly Quince added his third of the playoffs with 51 seconds left. Raiders then mounted a third period comeback! Defenceman Ryan Johnston with his ninth on a powerplay and Hedges, with his second of the game and league-leading 10th of the playoffs, made it 4-3. Their goals came 32 seconds apart before the period was two minutes old. Quince unleashed his second of the game for Colts at 5:49. Nepean completed their turnaround with blueliner Hutton burying his third and Cowie tying it late. Borkowski, who also had two assists in the game, ended it with his seventh goal and 26th point in 14 post season games. Hafner was once again a big factor, making 43 saves as Nepean out chanced the visitors 48-41. Zawadzki started for Raiders but was replaced by BrindAmour to start the third period after yielding four goals on 23 shots. Tylor Spink had three points for the winners while Neil was a three assist man for Nepean. There were 11 penalties called, six going to Raiders. Both teams were 2-5 on the powerplay.

Game 4, Nepean 5 – Cornwall 2: Hafner had a very rare off night and Raiders scored two unanswered in each of the first and second periods on their way to evening the best-of-seven at two games apiece. High scoring defenceman Johnston made a major contribution firing his eighth playoff goal and setting up a pair of second period powerplay goals by teammate Hedges. Johnston, the highest scoring defenceman in the league during the regular season, boosted his post season point total to 15 in as many games. He was named the game’s first star. Playoff scoring hero Hutton set up three goals. Keenan Hodgson (he also had an assist) and Mac Weegar had the first period strikes for Nepean. Hodgson’s opener came shorthanded at the midway mark while Weegar connected during a powerplay with 1:29 left in the opening stanza as Raiders took the initiative early. Defenceman William Petschenig and winger Hope each scored their first playoff goals to get Cornwall on the scoreboard in the third period. Zawadzki was excellent in the Nepean cage making 36 saves as the home team held a 38-35 shots advantage. Hafner, who was a huge factor for Colts all season, was replaced by back-up Matt Jenkins after two periods. Hafner had yielded four goals on 27 shots which is good by most standards. Jenkins kicked out seven of the eight shots he faced. Penalties hurt Cornwall in this one with Nepean scoring four powerplay markers on just five opportunities. Raiders took eight of 15 penalties. Nine of the calls came during a testy third period as tempers flared. There were no fighting majors or game misconducts assessed however. A good Cornwall crowd of 1,350 was on hand for Game 4!

Jeff Maguire is a career journalist who lives in Carleton Place. He has covered junior hockey in Ontario for 40 years. He can be reached by e-mail at: jeffrey.maguire@rogers.com