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April 13, 2007
TEL.013
by Red Deer Advocate staff
The defending champions are coming back for another crack at the TELUS Cup.
The Prince Albert Mintos held
off the Brandon Wheat Kings 4-3 Sunday in the Western Regional championship to earn their second consecutive
berth in the National Midget Championship.
The Mintos will come into the TELUS Cup, which runs April 23-29 in Red Deer, Olds and Carstairs, as one of
the favourites. Not only did they beat the Calgary Buffaloes in the final last year, they also represent the
powerful Western Region. The past three national champions have all come from the region, which stretches
from Saskatchewan to northwestern Ontario.
If the Mintos are able to re-capture the TELUS Cup they will become the first team to win back-to-back
titles since the National Midget Championship began in 1979.
Two other teams also qualified Sunday, bringing the field to five. The Sault Ste. Marie North Stars won
the Central Region and the St. John’s Maple Leafs captured the Atlantic title. The host Red Deer Optimist
Rebels and Vancouver Northwest Giants (Pacific) had previously qualified.
The Mintos built a 4-0 lead midway through the second period against the host Wheat Kings, but Brandon
stormed back with three goals of their own. Mintos netminder Carsen Chubak shut the door and the Wheaties
weren’t able to get the equalizer.
The Mintos went 3-0 in the round robin with wins over the Thunder Bay Kings, Winnipeg Thrashers and Wheat
Kings.
The North Stars got off to a slow start at the Central Region championship in Waterloo, ON, but got hot
when it counted. They finished the seven-team round robin in fourth place with a 3-3 mark, but knocked off
the previously undefeated London Knights 4-1 in the semifinal and edged the Richmond Hill Stars 3-2 in double
overtime in the championship game.
The Central Region encompasses all of Ontario except for the northwest.
The Atlantic Regional final featured a pair of teams who had gone through the five-team round robin
undefeated. The Newfoundland and Labrador champion Maple Leafs (2-0-2) skated to a 3-2 win over the Nova
Scotia champion Dartmouth Subways (3-0-1).
This is the second consecutive trip to the nationals for the Maple Leafs. They finished the regular season
with the best winning percentage in the country with a 33-1-0-0 mark.
The final spot in the TELUS Cup will go to the Quebec champion. The top-ranked Sèminaire Saint-François
Blizzard from Quebec City have opened up a 3-1 lead over Montreal’s Lac St-Louis Lions in their best-of-seven
league championship series.
» 2007 TELUS Cup - National Midget
Championship
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