The first day of the Central Canada Cup brought last-second heroics and some sweet revenge for the host team.
In the tournament opener, the St. Paul Canadiens, representing the NEAJBHL, handed the reigning KJHL champion Peguis Juniors a 5-2 defeat.
A shorthanded goal by the Canadiens' Rylan Cardinal got the Canadiens the lead midway through the first and William Chemago made it 2-0 St. Paul soon after. While Peguis would claw back the game to a one-goal deficit, the Canadiens would not be denied, getting goals by Quinn Szpak, Cardinal and Braxton Patenaude, earning the win.
Canadiens goalie Mitchell Webb got the win with 24 saves, while Peguis goaltender Tucker St. John stopped 43 shots in the loss.
Next up was a matchup between the LJHL's Current River Storm and the PJHL's Saskatoon Royals, ending in a 6-6 tie on a heart-stopping last-minute finish.
Saskatoon's Mackenzie Wallace got the Royals ahead four minutes in, but the Storm would claw back with three straight goals to end the first. The Royals answered back with three goals in the second period, giving them back the lead, but Current River tied the game at four with a goal by Jonathan Beaucage.
The Royals' Matthew Ripplinger and Jonah DesRosiers of the Storm dropped the mitts late in the second, leading to both players being kicked out of the game - Ripplinger scored two of the Royals' three goals in the second period, setting the team's offence back a hot hand.
The Storm got a powerplay goal late in the second from Rylan Grenier to get the lead back, but two more goals from Saskatoon in the third tied the game up and gave Saskatoon the lead - first a game-tying goal from Eric Diekrager, then a go-ahead goal from Ben Schmidt. With moments to go in the game, the Royals stayed on top - until, with four seconds on the clock, David Chisholm tied the game with a goal for Current River. The teams would play a single overtime period, but things would end in a 6-6 tie.
Saskatoon netminders Brayden Schenstead and Nic Jensen split the tie, with Schenstead starting the game before being pulled late in the first. The two combined for 39 saves. Paul Lecuyer was in goal for the Storm and stopped 34 pucks.
In the final game of the day, the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) Selects would face off in a grudge match against the same Peguis team that beat them in the KJHL finals last week. With Peguis playing their second game of the day and PBCN coming in fresh and on home ice, the Selects defeated the Juniors 4-2.
Peguis opened the game with a goal in the first by Jeremiah Jacques, but PBCN captain Owen Angootealuk tied the game late in the second and the Selects ran off with the lead in the third. Maddox Dominey got a go-ahead goal, then Nole Pearson followed suit. While Jacques scored again for Peguis midway through the period to bring the Juniors back within one, Justin Eetuk scored with less than four minutes left to erase all doubt.
Ethan Fechter earned the win with a 33-save showing for the Selects, while Marcus Whitecloud, Peguis' backup, made 29 saves in a losing cause.
After day one of the tournament, the Selects and Canadiens sit tied for first place with one win each. The Royals and Storm are tied for third after their tie, while Peguis sits last with two losses.
On Thursday, all five teams will play two games each. PBCN will open the action with a matchup with Saskatoon, followed by St. Paul playing Current River. Saskatoon will play Peguis at 2:30 p.m., followed by PBCN and St. Paul at 5 p.m. The final game of a busy day at the rink will be Peguis and Current River, playing at the Whitney Forum at 7:30 p.m.
