Isaac Howard scores short handed Saturday
The final day of Pool Play was a mixed bag of games that mattered and games that decided the final seeds for the Continental Divide progressive game Sunday. The final spot in the Championship Game wasn't decided until late Saturday when Ontario Black beat Great Lakes to finish The Show a perfect 7-0. In the game prior, Southeast beat Team Canada 4-0 to punch their ticket to the 'ship to claim the American Gold Medal. They finished with five wins, with their only losses to Alberta and the team they face Sunday, Ontario Black.
Midwest, Great Lakes and Great Plains all needed to win both games Saturday and needed "help" to gain the finals. Midwest lost to Alberta (5-0) and Ontario Red (5-3) and Great Lakes defeated Atlantic Provinces (8-6) in the morning but were eliminated prior to their loss to Ontario Black. Great Plains took care of business beating Ontario Red (3-1) and Atlantic (7-3).
Southeast was no help to Great Plains beating BC and Team Canada with identical 4-0 shutout wins.
With Ontario Black's win over Team USA in the morning, Alberta and Ontario Red still had a shred of hope if they could win both games Sunday and get "help" from the Americans. Alberta dashed Midwest's hope for a medal beating them 5-0 in the morning and then they beat Mid Atlantic 9-0 in the afternoon to finish 6-1 for the week. Alberta was one of the most impressive teams in the field. They had size, speed a few great finishing artists that racked up gaudy stats on the scoresheet. Ontario Red fell to Great Plains in the morning, losing 3-1 despite a great effort from all three lines.
Quebec dashed the hopes of Team USA for their lone win of The Show. Jake Rozzi scored twice, once with 55 ticks left in the game to tie it and then again in the second overtime (2 v 2) to win it. USA ends up losing two overtime heartbreakers in two days. BC lost in the morning to American gold medalist Southeast and the finished strong by beating Team USA 5-2.
On Sunday the six teams that didn't make the Championship will play in the Continental Divide. A six period progress game matching the like seeds from each country in a six, twenty minute mini-games with continuos score kept.
Period 1: Team USA vs. Quebec...a juicy rematch of Saturday's OT win by Quebec, can you say familiar?
Period 2: Mid Atlantic vs. BC...a great period of hockey, MA won on a late goal to lift them to a 5-4 win on Friday.
Period 3: West vs. Atlantic Provinces..Atlantic won their only matchup Friday 5-2.
Period 4: Midwest vs. Team Canada...TC looking for revenge to the team that gave them their first loss.
Period 5: Great Lakes vs. Ontario Red...a battle of two heavyweights. Both teams have a lot of scoring punch. Ontario won Friday 5-2.
Period 6: Alberta vs. Great Plains...another great rematch Sunday between two teams that battled to the finish Friday night...GP won 3-2.
Championship: All signs point to a big win for Ontario Black Sunday. Black beat Southeast 7-1 Friday and has beaten this same team a few times in recent non-Show tournaments this Spring. On Sunday at 12:38 pm (you can't make this stuff up), the Gregorian Calendar will mark the beginning of Summer and the longest day of the year. Will Sunday be a long day for Ontario? Can their weapons outlast the scrappy bunch from Florida and get a few past Melbourne's Jacob Fowler? Tune into YHH on Sunday to see if the Southeast can stay hot and pull the upset.
Jhett Larson, Team Canada - a dynamic player on both ends of the ice, hat a Hatty Saturday against Mid Atlantic.
Shane Wright, Ontario Black - the most imposing player in The Show who can score from anywhere...had a Hatty against Team USA Saturday.
Cutter Gauthier, Great Lakes - a breath of fresh air type of player who scores all types of goals, had a Hatty today against Atlantic.
Eli Sebastian, Ontario Black - one of many stars for the Black, had a pair of big goals to help put away the clinching game Saturday against Great Lakes.
Matthew Savoie, Alberta - it is sounding like a broken record now, but this kid can really play. He had a Hatty Saturday against Midwest.
Dangle, Snipe and Celly