DANKOCHIK’S DRAFTINGS: The moments that win a Centennial Cup
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Just making the Centennial Cup, Canada’s national junior A championship is an arduous task, but winning it, as the Niverville Nighthawks did this year in Summerside, P.E.I. takes a whole lot of effort, some great prepartion and a little bit of luck.
Every team you face is either a league champion or has been preparing for hosting duties for years. In a group of five, a team must finish first and get a bye to the tournament semi-finals to have a realistic chance at victory.
The host Summerside Western Capitals looked great at the tournament, pushing Niverville (ranked second in the country) to overtime and flat-out beating Rockland (ranked first) in group play. But a stumble against Alberta champions Canmore meant to win the tournament they needed to win three games over three consecutive days.
Beating Maritime rivals Truro in a league playoff rematch and blasting Quebec champions Longueuil was impressive but a re-match with Niverville in the final at a serious rest disadvantage was always going to be too much for the hosts to overcome.
The play that may have been the difference in the entire tournament came in the first game, when Marlen Edwards knocked down a overtime breakout pass and back-handed home a winner to give Niverville a victory over Summerside on the first night of the tournament, despite looking a little flat at times.
Lose that game and you might be in a fight for first place until the bitter end with Summerside and maybe lose out the coveted bye. All that just to get to a semi-final where one slip-up could put you out of the hunt.
The other key moment came in the semi-final. After falling behind 3-0 thanks to a tough bounce during a poke-check and a failed breakout, the Toronto Patriots bench took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Two minutes later Evan Panzer made the score 3-1, sparking a comeback that should go down in Centennial Cup and Niverville lore.
Even if you’re the favourite, it still takes some bounces along the way to become a national champion.