On the heels of Jack Works winning the NCAA MenSA国际影视传媒檚 Hockey Championship last weekend, there is another Yellowknife hockey player who has a chance of copping a national crown of his own.
The only question is whether heSA国际影视传媒檒l get to do it as a league champion or by backing in.
Ethan Anstey and his Flin Flon Bombers are off to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey LeagueSA国际影视传媒檚 (SJHL) Canalta Cup final after they defeated the Humboldt Broncos in Game 5 of their semifinal series on Tuesday night on the road in Humboldt. A 1-0 shutout gave the Bombers a 4-1 series triumph and a spot in the championship series versus the Estevan Bruins. The final will get underway on April 22 in Estevan.
SA国际影视传媒淲e managed to squeak through,SA国际影视传媒� said Anstey on Wednesday. SA国际影视传媒淭heySA国际影视传媒檙e a real good team SA国际影视传媒� lots of speed and plenty of skill but look at the scores.SA国际影视传媒�
Yes, look at the scores.
The 1-0 win on Tuesday was the second such result in the series. Only one of the five contests was decided by more than a one-goal spread, that being Game 1 on April 1, a 3-1 win for the Bombers. That means the BombersSA国际影视传媒� back end was doing its job and so was goaltender Cal Schell.
SA国际影视传媒淐al was unbelievable,SA国际影视传媒� said Anstey. SA国际影视传媒淗eSA国际影视传媒檚 the big reason we were winning those close games and our defence was on point the whole series.SA国际影视传媒�
The Bombers ended up in the semifinal after beating the Battlefords North Stars in the quarter-final in six games, winning four in a row after dropping the opening two. They won the first three games against Humboldt before dropping Game 4. If you do the addition, the Bombers had won seven in a row before losing the fourth game and had eight wins in their last nine.
Anstey, who lines up at centre, said that was completely unexpected.
SA国际影视传媒淚f you take a look at how we finished the regular season, we only won three of our last 13 games,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淲e came off of two road losses in North Battleford and the doubt may have been there a bit. But we never thought we would roll off seven straight.SA国际影视传媒�
Another big reason for the success? Home cooking, said Anstey.
SA国际影视传媒淭his town just went crazy when we got home for Game 3 (vs. the North Stars),SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淭hey won that game for us and Game 4, too. We were down 3-1 and came back to win it, 4-3, in overtime. Our fans are the best.SA国际影视传媒�
Another reason Anstey figures the Bombers have been on a roll is character, something he said took him back to his Wolfpack days in Yellowknife.
SA国际影视传媒淥ur coach (Mike Reagan) reminds me a lot of my dad (Brad Anstey) and Dan (Schofield),SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淭hey used to talk a lot about character and how character wins you hockey games. We won a lot of games down south (as the Wolfpack) based off of our character SA国际影视传媒� we might not be the best team but weSA国际影视传媒檙e going to go out and earn it. Mike talked about that overtime win against Battlefords as a character win and that reminded me of all those road trips with the Wolfpack.SA国际影视传媒�
About that national championship: the Bombers have now qualified as the SJHL representative for the Centennial Cup, the Canadian Jr. A Championship. The Bruins are the host team for this yearSA国际影视传媒檚 tournament and because of that, the Bombers get in by virtue of being in the final.
Anstey, though, isnSA国际影视传媒檛 satisfied with just being able to go.
SA国际影视传媒淲e want to go in as the champs,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淭hat gives us more respect because it shows we arenSA国际影视传媒檛 there because we fluked our way in. We want to show everyone that we belong there. We want to go in with that ring on our finger.SA国际影视传媒�
