If getting there is half the battle, consider Team Ontario's work in the Canada Winter Games men's hockey tournament 50 per cent complete.
The boys from Ontario will try to finish off what they started when they play Alberta for gold Sunday morning at CN Centre after defeating Quebec 5-2 in Friday's semifinal.
Two goals from Gabriel Vilardi and singles from Ben Jones, Ryan McLeod and Brett Neumann provided the spice for the Ontario offence and goalie Michael DiPietro threw in the preservative, making 29 saves to backstop his team into the championship game.
Ontario seized control with a three-goal outburst in the third period. It started 7:41 into the third when Simon Boyko tried a wraparound and had his shot stopped by goalie Alex D'Orio. Jones spotted the puck free at the side of the net, spun and fired what stood up as the gamewinner. Two minutes later, Owen Tippett took a low shot from the slot which gave D'Orio trouble and Ryan McLeod pounced on the fat rebound and chipped a backhander in to make it 4-2.
Brett Neumann added to the total at 12:29, going across the ice with the puck as he entered the Quebec zone before hoisting a wrist shot high into the net.
Quebec got off to a great start and built a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals less than two minutes apart. Joseph Veleno, a bantam-aged forward who just turned 15 in January, picked the corner clean with a high wrist shot for his fourth goal and 10th point of the tournament with 11:49 gone. Then at the 13:21 mark, Antoine Morand collected his fifth goal of the Games on a wicked slapper from close range that whistled past DiPietro.
Outshot 14-8 in the opening frame, Ontario looked a much different team coming out for the second period. They were able to set up in the Quebec end and after some good puck movement and a bit of hard work in the corners, the puck came back to pointman Hayden Davis. His waist-level shot was knocked down by the stick of Vilardi and the puck skidded into the net.
Vilardi evened the score less than four minutes later to finish off a 3-on-2 rush for Ontario. Markus Phillips blocked a shot at the far blueline and that sprung Brady Gilmour, who fed Vilardi for a wrister that got through the pads of D'Orio.
Shots ended up 33-31 in favour of Ontario.
Quebec will face Manitoba in the bronze medal game tonight at 7:30 at CN Centre.
