No team from the Atlantic provinces has ever won Canada’s midget hockey national championship.
The Cape Breton West Islanders of Nova Scotia are just one win away from ticking that box.
They beat the Mississauga Rebels 2-1 in the Telus Cup semifinal Saturday afternoon at CN Centre to advance to Sunday final (3 p.m.) against the Saint-Francois Blizzard of Quebec City.
The Islanders know now they have to chance to make history in Prince George, 5,568 driving kilometres away from home. They got to the position thanks to a goal from Jacob Stewart, the gamewinner, while his team was on a power play, 5:23 into the third period.
“We knew after playing them in the first game they were strong team, strong and skilled, but they were beatable and we all thought that,” said Islanders captain Jacob Hudson.
“An Atlantic team has never won it and we’re going to try change that (Sunday) and I think we’ve got the team to do it.”
After an evenly-played scoreless first period, each team found the net once in the second period. Mississauga left winger Logan Smilsky was the trailer on a 3-on-2 chance and he took the pass in the high slot and dipped his shoulder slightly before letting go a low snap shot that sailed in over Colten Ellis’s stick blade 13:44 into the period.
Less than two minutes later, Islanders defenceman Ryan MacLellan let go a shot from the point that goalie Christian Purboo blocked and the puck skirted out to Malcolm MacEachern, who put a shot off Purboo leg. The puck barely crossed over the line before exiting the goal with the referee in perfect position to signify it did go in. Shots were even at 15 apiece after two periods.
The winning goal came 5:23 into the third period with Rebels defenceman Quentin Degano off for roughing. Stewart made the initial rush on the power play and had the puck along the left wing boards when he unleashed a low shot to the far side that ticked off a piece of Purboo’s stick blade as it traveled into the net.
Mississauga shut out the Islanders 1-0 in the preliminary round on Thursday, holding them to just 12 shots. Cape Breton had that many shots on the Rebels after the first period Saturday.
The Rebels went 4-1-0 to finish first in the standings, while the Islanders (2-2-0) barely made the playoff round. They slipped past the host Cariboo Cougars into fourth place when Mississauga held Cariboo to 2-2 tie on Friday.
“I think we embraced that underdog mentality,” said Islanders head coach Kyle MacDonald. “There’s a lot of belief in our room and since we come from small towns there’s so much community support and buzz back home and it’s very motivating for these guys.
“We were pretty much out of the tournament (Friday) and having to rely on Prince George to lose or tie, you kind of get that second life there. The pressure was off and they were relaxed and just played their game. We got contributions from every player and that made the difference.”
Ellis was a significant difference-maker Saturday. The 16-year-old from River Denys, N.S., made 23 saves in the semifinal and throughout the tournament has been Cape Breton’s MVP.
“I’ve had Colten since he was 13 and he was the same when he was 13, how he prepared for games, he’s such a young professional,” said MacDonald. “We’ve won Atlantics twice and I’ve found Colten was always better in the big games, you could always depend on him and he instils in this team that we can win this tournament.”
The Rebels took three penalties in the third period, including a cross-checking infraction handed to Michael Hill with only about six minutes left. All that time in the sinbin limited what they could do offensively in the final 20 minutes.
“I think discipline was a problem throughout the tournament, it was a one-goal game and we took a bad penalty and it really hurt us” said Rebels general manager Frank Caruso. “Their second goal, 99 per cent of the time that’s not going in, but that’s hockey. I think they played a great game and maybe had more hunger than we did.
“We’ll be hungry in our next game and try to stay out of that box and see if we can get that bronze medal. It’s been a great tournament, the teams are all even. Any team could have won this thing.”
The Rebels and Regina Pat Canadians will battle for bronze Sunday at 11 a.m. at CN Centre. Regina lost the other semifinal 4-3 in overtime to the Blizzard.
No Nova Scotia team has ever won the national title since its inception in 1974. The Sidney Crosby-fortified Dartmouth Subways won silver in 2002, losing to the Tisdale (Sask.) Trojans in the final.
“It’s crazy to think we’re up here at nationals competing with the best in Canada – to be in the championship game is just a surreal feeling, it’s something we’ve dreamed about all year and worked hard all year for,” said Ellis, whose team topped Saint-Francois 2-1 Monday in the preliminary round.
“They’re a fast team, they move the puck well and we just have defend well against them and turn our defence to offence and go at them hard.”
TELUS TIDBITS: Heading into this year's final, Cape Breton had two other medals in the tournament. In 1981, the Antigonish Novas won bronze and in 1982 the Cape Breton Colonels also won bronze, sharing their medal with Ontario when the teams were tied but could not finish the game due to time restrictions to allow for the televised gold-medal final … Rebels defenceman Patrick Sebben lowered the boom with his shoulder on Islanders centre Logan Timmons for the hit of the game, 6:24 in. Timmons missed a few shifts but was back for the second period… Rebels head coach Michael O’Shea served the third game of a three-game suspension for verbally abuse of an on-ice official near the end of a preliminary-round game against Leduc on Wednesday… Individual game tickets for the medal games will be on sale at the CN Centre box office for $15 each.
