Victoria Grizzlies News
BRONCOS SADDLE UP FOR SEMIFINALSPhoto by Gordon Lee May 07, 2009 Cleve Dheensaw ©Times Colonist - The spotty attendance to date at the 2009 RBC Cup national Junior A hockey tournament has been ripped in some quarters. But don’t blame the nearly 100 passionate fans of the defending champion Humboldt Broncos, who have made their way out from Saskatchewan. The green-clad contingent was in throaty roar yesterday afternoon as their local heroes guaranteed themselves a berth in the semifinals tomorrow by defeating the Kingston Voyageurs of Ontario 5-2 in round-robin play. A matinee audience of 1,737 at Bear Mountain Arena, abetted by thunderstick wielding school children as well as the Humboldt supporters, provided the best atmosphere of the week up to that point. “We get great support, these are die-hard fans, and they give us that extra boost,” said Broncos GM and head coach Dean Brockman. The result left Humboldt with a 2-1 record and Kingston at 1-2. “It takes a little bit of pressure off us knowing we’re booked for the semifinals,” said Brockman. Taylor Piller, Dimitri Levin, Scott Schroeder, Tory Allan and Shawn Hunter, the latter into an empty net, scored for Humboldt, the Anavet Cup Saskatchewan-Manitoba champions. “We kept our feet moving and that was a big win for us,” said Schroeder. Captain Brady Wacker, committed next season to 2009 NCAA Frozen Four U.S. collegiate Bemidji State, was named player of the game for Humboldt. “It’s nice for sure knowing we’re headed to the playoffs [semifinal round] and that gives us the option of perhaps resting some guys for our final round-robin game [tonight against Summerside],” said Wacker, an undersized but tenacious blueliner.
“It’s nice to reward our fans. It’s great to see so many of them make the trip out. We hear them on the ice, for sure.” Jarrett Burton and Mike Farrell replied for Kingston, the Central region representative, with Burton named Voyageurs’ player of the game. Kingston thought it had tied the game 3-3 in the third period but had the goal waved off because of an offside call. “That changed the momentum but the ref and linesmen got the call right,” said Kingston GM and head coach Evan Robinson, whose club closes out the round robin this afternoon at 2 p.m. against the undefeated BCHL champion Vernon Vipers. The Victoria Grizzlies’ victory over Summerside, the Eastern representative from P.E.I., assured Kingston a spot in tomorrow’s semifinals. The Broncos-Voyageurs game yesterday afternoon featured Scott Harrington, the highly touted 16-yearold Kingston defenceman, who has yet to decide between OHL major-junior with the London Knights or the NCAA route. “While I’m here in Victoria, I have a job to do, and I don’t even think about that stuff,” said Harrington. “I’m here just to help my team win. I grew up in Kingston, so it would be a great honour to bring home a national championship for the Vees.” The good folks from Humboldt, of course, have another scenario envisioned. “The Broncos are very, very big in our community,” said Aaron Lukan, a Humboldt property manager, who was wearing a Broncos jacket yesterday afternoon at Bear Mountain Arena. “Because we’ve won championships, a lot of the best kids from the region want to come and play for Humboldt.”
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