RBC Cup Opening Weekend Recap

The RBC Cup National Junior A Hockey Championship tournament got underway at Prospera Centre in Chilliwack over the weekend.

The Wellington Dukes and Ottawa Jr. Senators got things started with a 2 pm game on Saturday afternoon. The first game of the series went into OT where the Ottawa Jr. Senators claimed the 2-1 win.

The Opening Ceremony was prior to the Saturday night game between the Wenatchee Wild and Chilliwack Chiefs.
The Sardis Drumline performed and AtoMc Minor Hockey players, serving as Flag Bearers to represent the various regions, were on ice as each of the competing teams were introduced to the fans. Mayor Sharon Gaetz and Chief David Jimmie addressed the fans and offered greetings to the teams as well as their family and fans in attendance.

The crowd was a sea of green and gold as most were wearing the #HumboldtStrong t-shirts that had been laid on the seats. When the Humboldt Broncos President Kevin Garinger and Assistant GM Jason Neville were announced, the crowd spontaneously gave a loud and lengthy standing ovation followed by a moment of silence before the national anthems sung by Bria Skonberg.

The game itself was a rematch of BCHL rivals, and proved to be a close game, also going into overtime before Wenatchee claimed the 2-1 victory.

Sunday’s games started with the Steinbach Pistons going up against the Wenatchee Wild at 2 pm. The Pistons started the game off strong with a 2-0 lead until the very end of the first period when Wenatchee got a goal as they went into the first intermission. The two teams traded one goal leads through the rest of the game, with this being the only one of the weekend to be decided in regulation time, with Wenatchee putting another check mark in the win column with a final score of 4-3. (There was a delay to the start of the third period due to an issue with the ice.)

The final game of the weekend saw the Chilliwack Chiefs and the Ottawa Jr. Senators go into now familiar territory, overtime. Chiefs Captain Will Calverly was the story of the night, with his name being heard every time a goal registered for the Host Team. 4-3 was the final score for a second time Sunday, as the Chiefs claimed their first win.

Just one game on the schedule for Monday, May 14th. The Steinbach Pistons go up against the Wellington Dukes at 7 pm.

(All pictures used with permission of Hockey Canada)