Attack blast through Ice in round-robin
Posted May 21, 2011 10:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — The Kootenay Ice got a taste of their own medicine on Saturday.
The Western Hockey League champions lost to a team that was grittier, tougher and just flat out wanted it more.
The characteristics of the Ontario Hockey League winners from Owen Sound more closely resembled those from a WHL team, and in particular, the team they beat in the process.
Kootenay played well for spurts, including the final 10 minutes of the second period where they appeared to be on a power-play, but were unable to beat the game’s first star, goaltender Jordan Binnington.
The goaltending situation for Owen Sound head coach Mark Reeds was made much easier for the next game after Binnington shone with a 29-save performance. The youngest of the Owen Sound Attack’s three-goalie pyramid was given the crease in the team’s opening game of the MasterCard Memorial Cup and didn’t look out of place.
Binnington faced a barrage of shots in the second period and was even run over on one rush by Ice forward Cody Eakin, but the sophomore was unrelenting and no worse for the wear after dusting himself off.
It was a textbook Ice game-plan, only it was executed by Owen Sound. The Attack began clogging up the neutral zone and making it difficult to penetrate their defence after picking up the lead. Saskatoon, Medicine Hat and Portland would see the irony in Kootenay’s first tournament loss.
The game turned ugly shortly after the Attack took a 3-0 lead. Ice forward Brayden McNabb caught Joey Hishon with a blindside elbow to the head that left the Attack forward dazed on the ice. McNabb was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct with little more than five minutes remaining in the third.
The nature of the MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament dictates not every team will be able to carry over its playoff success. The Kootenay Ice appear to be this year’s example. After a back and forth first period, the Ice’s once potent offence and power-play froze up. With the exception of the dynamic Eakin, whose outside speed created chances for his teammates, the Ice were finding it difficult to produce scoring chances.
It was only Kootenay’s second loss in their last 17 games and first in their last five.
The referees were still under fire from the fans in this game. Following the Attack’s third-consecutive penalty to begin the game, fans chanted “we want a ref” during the television timeout. Later in the first period, Cameron Brace fired a shot over Lieuwen’s shoulder that appeared to go in, but hit the cross-bar and bounced out. Fans then chanted, “that was in.”
Eakin was unquestionably the Ice’s star through the first two periods. He created a lot of chances for his linemates that didn’t result in goals. After Jagger Dirk was stopped on a shot in tight on a pass from Eakin, the Canadian world junior forward gave his teammate words of encouragement then patted him on the back with his stick.
Owen Sound’s win guarantees one OHL team will be playing in an elimination game after the host, Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, dropped the opener. The last two national champions came from the OHL, both won by the Windsor Spitfires.
The last WHL MasterCard Memorial Cup champions are the Spokane Chiefs, who won the 2008 tournament in OHL territory.
Sunday’s game will feature a battle of the two winless teams when the host Majors take on the Ice.
