SPORTS FLASHBACK 2016: Bentley silences Thunder twice in Allan Cup finals
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It certainly was a case of deja vu in front of a packed house at the T.G. Smith Centre, as the Bentley Generals claimed the 2016 Allan Cup championship with a thrilling 4-3 victory over the host Southeast Prairie Thunder.
Bentley’s Carter Rigby chipped in a point shot at 15:47 of overtime to seal the victory and give the Alberta team its third Allan Cup. Ironically, their first national championship victory came against the Prairie Thunder in Steinbach in 2009, the last time The Automobile City hosted the Allan Cup.
Bentley lost to the Prairie Thunder in last year’s Allan Cup final in Newfoundland, but atoned for that loss on Steinbach ice, Sunday.
Bentley did not lead in the championship game until when it mattered most, in overtime. The Prairie Thunder held a one-goal lead until midway through the third period, when a shot bounced off a Thunder player during a Bentley power play to knot the score at three.
The Prairie Thunder had a number of opportunities to put the game out of reach during regulation time, outshooting the Generals by a 37-28 margin. Southeast went one-for-seven on the power play, while Bentley scored twice on four power play chances, including the tying goal in the third.
Bentley captain Don Morrison, hoisting the Allan Cup for the third time, said it never gets old and each time was “sweeter than the last.”
Needless to say, Prairie Thunder general manager Marv Kornelson, who has put heart and soul into this team for the last two decades, was disappointed with the way the game ended.
“We outplayed them, but in the end it just didn’t end in our favour.”
Kornelson agreed with fans, who felt the Prairie Thunder’s 2-1 win in the semi-final against the fan favorite, Newfoundland’s Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts, was the best game of the tournament.
“I actually think the Cataracts had the best team in the tournament.”
Three of the six teams in the 2016 Allan Cup participated the last time Steinbach hosted the week-long series in 2009. The Southeast Prairie Thunder, as the host team, were unable to defend the national title they won in 2015, while the Bentley Generals got to avenge that 2015 overtime loss. Ile des Chenes, the 2009 Allan Cup host team, qualified as the 2016 Manitoba champion this time.
The Prairie Thunder, who won the Allan Cup in 2012 and 2015 and the Bentley Generals, Allan Cup champions in 2009 and 2013, faced off in the championship final for a third time.