|
| Gerard Baldo, Ice Demons captain with the Lightning Cup, as CIHL regular season champions... |
|
| For the second time in four years, Jeff Mildenberger, Kitimat Ice Demons defenseman won the CIHL playoffs MVP trophy, presented by CIHL vice-president and Demons GM, Mike Whelan, left. |
|
| The presentation of the Rio Tinto Alcan CIHL championship trophy to Gerard Baldo, captain of the Kitimat Ice Demons, was made by Tino Perreira, right, RTA works manager. |
At the other end, Williams Lake veteran goalie, Willie Sellars, was also in pretty good form, but let in two goals, one just 16 seconds into a Kitimat power play as Derek Wakita opened the scoring on Kitimat's first shot on goal at 5.36 of the first period, neatly deflecting a Blaine Markwart shot behind the goaltender. Chris Vilness had a second assist on the marker.
And, with 39 second left in the period Ian Coleman was sent in alone by Jeff Mildenberger to blast a hard shot that Sellers couldn't get a glove on. Blaine Markwart also assisted in the goal, which turned out to be the game winner.
Early in the second period, Jeff Mildenberger (unassisted) drifted into the front of the Stampeders' net with just .36 of the first period gone by and lifted a Derek Wakita rebound high over Sellars to give the Ice Demons a 3-0 lead. That lasted until the 7.26 mark of the second period, when Stuart Sasges buried a sweet cross from Aaron Zurak that gave Vilness no chance for a stop.
The goal gave the Stampeders some new life as that was the same score at the end of the second period in Williams Lake. But this time the Demons did not take penalties under pressure and two goals, two minutes apart inside the first four minutes of the third put the game virtually out of reach for the tiring Stampeders who seemed to wilt at that point. The goals were scored by Greg Sabey, playing a bit hurt, who blasted a worm burner (Derek Wakita) that simply beat Sellars along the ice. The second goal, that completely took the wind out of the Stampeders sails, was scored by Derek Wakita, unassisted, and was a beauty.
Then with just under four minutes left, Gerard Baldo, Derek Wakita and Jeff Mldenberger combined for a tic-tac-toe effort that showed nice passing skills, as Baldo lifted the last pass behind Sellars.
The Stampeders didn't seem to have much left, but did not quit as they out-shot the Demons in the frustrating final minutes as the defense and forwards just kept chipping the puck out of the zone and sending the Stamps back for it. Vilness got a glove on a hard Francis Johnson shot that also clanged off the crossbar and into the netting - but that was as close as the Stamps could come.
The Ice Demons lined up for a team informal shot after winning the RTA Cup as CIHL champions for 2008-09.
For the Demons it was a gritty hard-checking game and there was some good fore checking and hitting at both ends, but all in all Kitimat played the game it needed to please the fans and win their fifth playoff championship in a row.
The Rio Tinto Alcan championship trophy was presented to Demons' captain Gerard Baldo by Tino Perreira, sponsor RTA works manager. Mike Whelan, vice-president of the CIHL also presented the Demons with the Lightning Cup for the regular season CIHL championship.
Coach Barry Boudreault had a difficult choice to make in awarding the CIHL playoff MVP trophy at the end of the game. "We had several deserving candidates, but it came down to a choice between center Derek Wakita and defenseman Jeff Mildenberger, but I'm pretty sure everyone agrees Mildenberger has probably been the league's outstanding player all season and carried a huge load in the playoffs, with a two top members of our regular defense missing for the final game (Paul Plante, injured, and Jeff Baker, away)," said Boudreault.
Demons were also without league-leading goaltender, Jamie Moran, coaching in midget provincial play downs, but special Demons' thanks go out to backup Richard Taylor, the team's chief and noisiest cheerleader for the last three seasons.
Also deserving of special mention in the playoffs was Chris Vilness, converted from center to defense for most of the eight playoff games it took the Demons to win the championship.
Off to the Coy Cup...
There's not much time to rest or heal for either the Kitimat Ice Demons or the Williams Lake Stampeders. On Tuesday at 5 p.m. the two teams will meet for the third time in 10 days to start the provincial Senior AA men's hockey Championship, the Coy Cup in Terrace. The Ice Demons are the defending champions and three-time Coy Cup champions over the past four seasons.
Also in the tournament are the host Terrace River Kings and the North Coast-Island playoff winners, the Powell River Regals, also past winners of the Coy Cup at the AA level and more recently the AAA Canadian championship Allan Cup. They are expected to be formidable opponents in the Coy Cup and start their pursuit Tuesday night at 8 p.m. against the Terrace River Kings.