Dauphin sends MJHL final to Game 7
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/05/2022 (1397 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
This year’s Manitoba Junior Hockey League championship will be determined in a seventh game.
Carson Cherepak turned aside all 24 shots he faced on Sunday night at Credit Union Place as the Dauphin Kings picked up a 2-0 win over the Steinbach Pistons to even up the Turnbull Cup final at three games apiece.
The Pistons — who won Game 5 by a 2-0 score on Friday in Steinbach — will host the series decider at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at T.G. Smith Centre.
“We’re really hyped up right now,” Kings forward Logan Calder said.
“We came in here with one job and that was to win Game 6 at home. We did that and now we need to play like we did tonight to force a Game 7.”
Like they did in their last home contest against the Pistons, when they won a 5-2 decision in Game 4 on Wednesday evening, the Kings came out of the gates flying.
They outshot their opponents by a 20-5 margin and could have easily led the game by a couple of goals if it wasn’t for some big saves on goal-mouth scrambles by Pistons netminder and future Western Michigan Bronco Will Hambley.
The Kings got on the board at the 5:09 mark of the middle frame when Garrett Hrechka potted home his third of the playoffs on a play that got started on a point shot by defenceman Colby Jaquet.
“That line of Hrechka, (Jayden) Harris and (Jerriah) Shantz really got us going again tonight,” Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said.
“I thought the entire team really responded well tonight after a tough loss in their rink Friday. We had double the shots in the first period and I thought we probably deserving of a better fate early instead of being tied up at zero, but our guys stayed patient and were rewarded by battling hard.”
The Kings had two great chances to extend their lead late in the second period.
Defenceman Jayden Jubenvill was able to spot a wide-open Harris in the slot, but the forward was stopped by Hambley and a rebound attempt wasn’t corralled in time by Hrechka.
A few minutes later, Cordell Coleman made a great rush down the wing but was stymied by Hambley as the score remained at 1-0 through 40 minutes.
Pistons head coach and general manager Paul Dyck was quick to sing the praises of his netminder after the contest.
“We were fortunate to still be in the game but Will gave us a chance all night,” Dyck said.
“To be honest, I didn’t think we generated enough opportunities on offence throughout the entire game. Give full credit to Dauphin. They were a step quicker and they played a more intelligent game. They were a hungrier and better team all night.”
While Dyck may have lamented the Pistons’ performance in Sunday’s contest, the top-ranked team in the MJHL had several chances to even up the contest in the third period.
Zach Power and Neo Kiemeney each had chances in tight that were turned aside by Cherepak in the middle of the frame, while Nate Goodbrandson was inches away from converting a feed from Jack Rogers into an open cage with 5:57 to go.
Calder sealed the win for the Kings at the 17:09 mark of the final stanza as he received a pass from Brayden Dube and made no mistakes in the slot.
Cherepak wasn’t challenged in the final minutes as he joined Hambley and Brandonite Dawson Green of the Winnipeg Blues as the only goaltenders to earn shutouts in the playoffs.
Hambley made 45 saves in a losing effort.
In Friday’s fifth game, Rogers scored at the 8:38 mark of the first period and the Pistons held that advantage until Braden Birnie put the puck into an empty net with four seconds to go.
Hambley stopped all 34 shots he faced for his second clean sheet of the post-season, while Cherepak made 27 saves in a losing effort.
The winner of Wednesday’s seventh game will represent the MJHL at the Centennial Cup in Estevan, Sask., which runs from May 19 to 29.
Awaiting the title holders in their pool are the Maritime Hockey League champion Summerside Western Capitals, the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League runner-up Flin Flon Bombers and the yet to be determined champions of the Central Canadian Hockey League and the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The other pool features the tournament host and SJHL champion Estevan Bruins, the Alberta Junior Hockey League champion Brooks Bandits, the Quebec Junior Hockey League champion Longueuil College Francais, the Superior International Junior Hockey League champion Red Lake Miners and the yet to be determined champions of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
ICINGS: This marks the second straight MJHL final to go to a seventh game, as the Portage Terriers picked up a 3-2 overtime triumph over the Swan Valley Stampeders on April 22, 2019. Calder suited up in 12 games for the Terriers during that post-season but did not play in Game 7.
» lpunkari@brandonsun.com
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