Brick Novice Hockey Tournament at West Edmonton Mall: Day 2
By Trevor Robb
EDMONTON — The B.C. Junior Canucks (1-1) squeaked out a 4-2 win over the Montreal Ice Storm (1-1) at the Brick Invitational Novice Hockey Tournament at West Edmonton Mall Tuesday afternoon, earning the teams’ first win of the tournament.
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- Montreal Ice Storm goalie Felix-Antoine Voyer throws the puck out of his net as members of the B.C. Junior Canucks celebrate the go-ahead goal. The Canucks downed the Ice Storm 4-2, at Day Two of the 2011 Brick Invitational Super Novice Tournament at West Edmonton Mall on Tuesday, July 5, 2011. Photograph by Trevor Robb
After two close periods, the Ice Storm lead 2-1 on the strength of a goal and an assist from forward Brooklyn Kalmikov. But the Junior Canucks came out strong in the third, netting two unanswered goals and an empty netter to put the game out of reach for the Storm.
“You look at every game so far, they’re all one or two goal games,” said Canucks fourth-year head coach and program director Jon Calvano. “When you gather some of the top players in North America together, it’s like a mini-NHL out there, and you either got to make the perfect play or get a greasy goal like we did in the second.”
On paper, statistically, there were very little differences between the two teams. Both went 0-3 on the powerplay, despite the Canucks being handed a 5-on-3 man-advantage in the second. The Canucks were also awarded a penalty shot in the second, but Ice Storm goaltender Felix-Antoine Voyer made the save. Shots were 21-20 for the Canucks.
“Every province or state is bringing their best players, the hockey is going to be competitive,” said Calvano. “A bounce here and a bounce there can go either way.”
Formally named the Vancouver Vipers, the team has had historical success at the tournament, winning in 2007 and in 2000 as the Vancouver Pacific Vipers. West Edmonton Mall has been good to the boys from British Columbia and it’s up to Calvano to keep his team grounded and focused on the game and not on the distractions that come with playing at such a venue.
“It feels a bit like a World Junior Championship, it’s got that festival environment to it with the Waterpark and Galaxyland, it’s just a real cool experience,” said Calvano. “For a lot of kids, it’s a new level of hockey and it’s different than winter hockey but they’re getting better as the tournament goes on.”
The Canucks are set to battle the Boston Junior Bruins (0-1) on Wednesday at 3:50 p.m., while the Ice Storm will be looking to avenge their loss against Team Brick Alberta (1-1) at 7:10 p.m. on Wednesday.