(left) DU recruit Joe Colborne and his teammates show dejection after a 1-0 loss to the Humboldt Broncos in the RBC Cup final game in Cornwall, Ont., yesterdayPhoto Credit: Robert Lefebvre
From: Edmonton Sun
By Jonathan Huntington
CORNWALL -- A save of a lifetime.
For Humboldt Broncos' goaltender Taylor Nelson, that is how he will remember this RBC Cup title game.
With one second remaining on the clock, Nelson robbed Camrose Kodiaks forward Joe Colborne with a spectacular glove save to ensure a 1-0 Humboldt win in this national Junior A title game yesterday.
From point-blank range in the slot, Colborne - the Canadian Junior A player of the year - couldn't have asked for a better opportunity to tie the tilt and send it to overtime.
Instead, the last-second third-period save will forever be remembered in Camrose as one of the most disappointing moments in the Kodiaks history.
The loss means the No. 1-ranked team in the nation failed on the national stage - marking the fourth time in five trips to this tournament that they have missed winning a gold medal.
"I thought it was in. I was about to put my hands up," said Colborne.
"I don't know if I will ever feel something like that again.
"He made a great save. It was a little bit of a shock."
In his final game as a Kodiak, the projected first-round NHL draft pick had only scored one goal in the five earlier games in this tourney.
DISAPPOINTING WHISPERS
There were whispers going around the Ed Lumley Arena about people being disappointed in the highly touted 18-year-old centre this past week.
The goal would have given new life to his teammates and quieted his critics.
"You dream of scoring that goal," continued Colborne.
"It just wasn't meant to be. We will have to move on and hopefully get over it some-day."
That will be a very tough task for the AJHL champs.
Carrying a 5-0 record at this tournament into the final against the Saskatchewan-based Broncos, the Kodiaks had never been shut out in their previous 28 RBC Cup games over their five trips to this stage.
But in Game 29, the offence didn't produce a single tally.
The Kodiaks spoiled six power-play opportunities - including a six-on-four advantage in the final 59 seconds with the goalie pulled.
That power outage combined with another slow start and Edward Gale's Humboldt tally in the first period (going five-hole on Camrose netminder Allen York) helped spell disaster.
"The biggest thing we left our guys with (yesterday in the post-game speech) was in life you have to go out and take it," said Camrose head coach Boris Rybalka.
"People aren't going to allow you to take things.
"That was the lesson learned.
"They waited a little bit (yesterday). The guys were maybe a little nervous."
Adding salt to the wound, this loss comes one year after the club lost a five-overtime semifinal RBC Cup game in Prince George.
HURTS MORE
"We thought it was pretty tough last year but this hurts quite a bit more," said Colborne.
To make matters worse, the defeat comes exactly five years to the day after Humboldt beat Camrose for the 2003 RBC Cup title in the Maritimes.
"My goodness, there are no words to express this," said Nelson after hoisting the trophy.
For some Kodiaks, it might be tough to say many words on this game for a long time to come.
For Humboldt Broncos' goaltender Taylor Nelson, that is how he will remember this RBC Cup title game.
With one second remaining on the clock, Nelson robbed Camrose Kodiaks forward Joe Colborne with a spectacular glove save to ensure a 1-0 Humboldt win in this national Junior A title game yesterday.
From point-blank range in the slot, Colborne - the Canadian Junior A player of the year - couldn't have asked for a better opportunity to tie the tilt and send it to overtime.
Instead, the last-second third-period save will forever be remembered in Camrose as one of the most disappointing moments in the Kodiaks history.
The loss means the No. 1-ranked team in the nation failed on the national stage - marking the fourth time in five trips to this tournament that they have missed winning a gold medal.
"I thought it was in. I was about to put my hands up," said Colborne.
"I don't know if I will ever feel something like that again.
"He made a great save. It was a little bit of a shock."
In his final game as a Kodiak, the projected first-round NHL draft pick had only scored one goal in the five earlier games in this tourney.
DISAPPOINTING WHISPERS
There were whispers going around the Ed Lumley Arena about people being disappointed in the highly touted 18-year-old centre this past week.
The goal would have given new life to his teammates and quieted his critics.
"You dream of scoring that goal," continued Colborne.
"It just wasn't meant to be. We will have to move on and hopefully get over it some-day."
That will be a very tough task for the AJHL champs.
Carrying a 5-0 record at this tournament into the final against the Saskatchewan-based Broncos, the Kodiaks had never been shut out in their previous 28 RBC Cup games over their five trips to this stage.
But in Game 29, the offence didn't produce a single tally.
The Kodiaks spoiled six power-play opportunities - including a six-on-four advantage in the final 59 seconds with the goalie pulled.
That power outage combined with another slow start and Edward Gale's Humboldt tally in the first period (going five-hole on Camrose netminder Allen York) helped spell disaster.
"The biggest thing we left our guys with (yesterday in the post-game speech) was in life you have to go out and take it," said Camrose head coach Boris Rybalka.
"People aren't going to allow you to take things.
"That was the lesson learned.
"They waited a little bit (yesterday). The guys were maybe a little nervous."
Adding salt to the wound, this loss comes one year after the club lost a five-overtime semifinal RBC Cup game in Prince George.
HURTS MORE
"We thought it was pretty tough last year but this hurts quite a bit more," said Colborne.
To make matters worse, the defeat comes exactly five years to the day after Humboldt beat Camrose for the 2003 RBC Cup title in the Maritimes.
"My goodness, there are no words to express this," said Nelson after hoisting the trophy.
For some Kodiaks, it might be tough to say many words on this game for a long time to come.
2 comments:
Surprised that an AJ team did not dominate and defeat an SJ team. Just shows the depth of the talent level throughout Canada. Hats off to Humbolt.
Wow he's crying now what till NODAK beats him up.
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