Mustangs edge Redmen in Queen’s Cup final
LONDON, Ont. – Freshman Keaton Turkiewicz netted the game-winner
and added a helper as the University of Western Ontario dethroned
±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą 2-1 to capture the Queen’s Cup as OUA men’s hockey champions
at Thompson Arena in London, Saturday.
The victory was just Western’s third OUA title and their first
Queen’s Cup triumph since 2004-05. “It was very exciting, and a
great effort by our guys,” said UWO head coach Clarke Singer.
Sophomore Ryan Martinelli had opened the scoring for the Mustangs
on a first-period power play 52 seconds after ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą was nailed for
a too-many-men penalty. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound rearguard wired a
high shot through traffic past the blocker of Redmen netminder
Kevin ¶Ů±đ˛ő´Ú´Ç˛ő˛őĂ©˛ő.
±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą had a 31-27 edge in shots but went 0-for-5 on the power play
as Game MVP Brad Topping made 30 saves, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound
senior from Strathroy, Ont, came up with numerous timely saves,
especially in the final period when the Redmen registered 30
attempted shots (12 on net) compared to only 13 by Western (eight
on net).
“We did a great job of keeping them to the outside,” said Topping.
“It made my job easier. Guys were out there blocking shots, taking
hits, taking punches. Anyone could have won MVP.”
With less than 30 seconds left in the first period, Topping made
several big saves to preserve the lead. He robbed Alexandre
Picard-Hooper of Boucherville, Que., on the doorstep. The freshman
centre, who was held pointless for the first time in post-season
play, ended up winning the OUA playoff scoring title with five
goals and 11 points in eight contests.
After stoning Picard-Hooper, Topping then turned aside Serbian
native Marko Kovacevic’s shot from the slot.
“Brad stood tall,” said Singer. “He earned the MVP.”
Turkiewicz put the Mustangs ahead 2-0 just before the midway point
of the second period. He jumped on a loose puck in the ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą zone,
wheeled around, and snapped a quick shot through ¶Ů±đ˛ő´Ú´Ç˛ő˛őĂ©˛ő’s
legs.
But three minutes later, the Redmen cut into the lead. Junior Ben
Gazdic, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound blueliner from Toronto, drifted into
the slot, and beat Topping with a hard shot to the glove
side.
¶Ů±đ˛ő´Ú´Ç˛ő˛őĂ©˛ő, whose post-season record dropped to 6-2, made 25 saves
for the Redmen, including two in the opening stanza on Mustangs’
defenceman Jason Swit of Mississauga, who found himself on
back-to-back breakaways within seconds of each other.
With seven minutes remaining in the game and Western clinging to a
precarious 2-1 lead, ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą co-captain Eric L’Italien, from St.
Foy, Que., streaked down the right side, and cut in on goal, but
couldn’t beat Topping. Western’s netminder then stopped two
separate tips by freshman Francis Verreault-Paul of Mashteviatsh,
Que.
“I’m disappointed with the result,” said ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą head coach Martin
Raymond. “We didn’t play our best game and struggled on the power
play. Western was a tough team and they played well and it might be
easier to accept if we had played our game and lost to a better
team. But we had puck control problems that resulted in way too
many turnovers.”
Both the Mustangs and Redmen have already qualified for the CIS
championship in Thunder Bay, Ont., March 26-29.
“It will be a sad, long bus ride home but at least we get a second
chance,” added Raymond. “It’s not often you get a second chance
like this, so we have to learn from this experience and move
on.”
REDMEN RAP:Â The Redmen had to make do without the services of
±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą Sam Bloom, the senior from Toronto who was their top sniper
with 14 goals during the regular season. Bloom, a key man on the
power play, was serving a league-imposed one-game suspension for a
high-sticking major called the previous week in the UQTR series. He
ended up leading the OUA post-season in penalty minutes with 42 in
just five games, matching his regular season total of 42 PIMs in 26
contests… Dan Durack, the events coordinator and public address
announcer at UWO’s Thompson Arena went beyond the call of
duty. Originally from Pierrefonds, Que., he announced all
goal and penalty announcements bilingually… Gazing into the crystal
ball, ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą is likely to be grouped at the Nationals in Pool A
with the Atlantic conference champion (UNB or St. Mary’s) and
Lakehead, the host team. An alternate but less likely option would
have the Redmen grouped in Pool B with Western and the Canada West
champion. However, the official tourney draw will not be known
before the evening of March 22.
SCORING SUMMARY
±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą 1 at Western 2
(Mar 14, 2009 - Queen’s Cup Final @ Thompson Arena)
FIRST PERIOD:
1, Western, Ryan Martinelli 2 (Turkiewicz, Baker), 15:24
(pp).
Penalties-
Picard-Hooper MCG (tripping), 4:44;
Peralta UWO (slashing), 5:37;
Morin MCG (slashing), 6:34;
BENCH MCG (too many men, served by Doucet), 14:32.
SECOND PERIOD:
2, Western, Keaton Turkiewicz 2 (Snow), 9:25.
3, ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą, Ben Gazdic 2 (Verreault-Paul, Lambert), 12:29.
Penalties-
Turcotte MCG (hooking), 1:58;
Courtney UWO (cross checking), 13:53;
Lamb UWO (holding), 18:14;
Kovacevic MCG (slashing), 18:34;
Farmanara UWO (roughing), 18:34.
THIRD PERIOD:
(No Scoring).
Penalties-
Farmanara UWO (boarding), 5:30;
Martinelli UWO (cross checking), 9:50.
SHOTS BY PERIOD:
±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą 10 - 9 - 12 -- 31.
Western 11 - 8 - 8 -- 27.
GOALS BY PERIOD:
±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą 0 - 1 - 0 -- 1
Western 1 - 1 -0 -- 2
POWER PLAY OPPORTUNITIES:
±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą 0 of 5;
Western 1 of 4.
PENALTIES (No/Mins):
±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą 5/10;
Western 6/12.
GOALTENDERS:
±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą,
Kevin ¶Ů±đ˛ő´Ú´Ç˛ő˛őĂ©˛ő [L, 6-2, 27 shots, 25 saves, 58:57]
Empty-net (1:03, 0 goals).
Western,
Brad Topping [W, 7-1, 31 shots, 30 saves, 60:00].
A-689
Referee: Sean Reid.
MOLSON CUP THREE STARS:
------------------------------------
1. Brad Topping, Western
2. Kevin ¶Ů±đ˛ő´Ú´Ç˛ő˛őĂ©˛ő, ±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą
3. Keaton Turkiewicz, Western
McGILL LINEUP:
----------------------
FORWARD:
Lambert, Verreault-Paul, L’Italien
Kovacevic, Picard-Hooper, Doucet
Wright, Marcotte, Daneau
Vossen, Langelier-Parent, Verrilli
DEFENCE:
Morin, Stilling
Turcotte, Dorion
Valente, Gazdic
GOAL:
¶Ů±đ˛ő´Ú´Ç˛ő˛őĂ©˛ő
McGILL LINEUP SCRATCHES:
------------------------------------------
G: Danny Mireault (dressed but DNP)
G: Hubert Morin
G: Jake Jarvis
D: Spencer Brennan (injd)
D: Ben Morse
D: Glenn Tindle
F: Benoit Arsenault (injd)
F: Sam Bloom (serving one-game suspension)
F: Tim Drager
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications & Publications Officer
Dept. of Athletics & Recreation
±«ÓăÖ±˛Ą
475 Pine Avenue West
Montreal, QC H2W 1S4
CANADA
514-398-7012 (tel.)
514-398-1956 (fax)