Adanacs Advance to Minto Cup

The Calgary Mountaineers looked to keep their momentum going with their game 3 win in hoping to even the series up at 2 at the Coquitlam Sports Centre on Sunday night.

The Coquitlam Adanacs had some usual faces back in the lineup as Michael Messenger and Evan Wortley were back in, but Wesley Berg was still absent. Pete Dubenski was back in goal for the Adanacs and after his performance in game 3, it was no surprise to see Jordan Kancsal in goal for the Mountaineers.

Just like the previous three games, the Mountaineers got on the board first as Jordan Prysko put it past Dubenski 51 seconds into the first period. The Mountaineers continued to pressure the Adanacs offensively and defensively early in the period and it paid off at 5:52 with a goal by Connor Goodwin to make it 2-0. Less than a minute later, Derek Lloyd scored his first of the series to go up 3-0.

The Mountaineers got into penalty trouble as Adam Oscienny received two minutes for cross checking, which the Adanacs didn't score, but as Oscienny was running to the bench, the substitute came on too early and Oscienny was back in the box for too many men. It took awhile for the Adanacs to get on the board as they were missing a lot of shots and making lousy passes, but Tyler Pace got one on the power play to cut the Mountaineers lead to two.

On a delayed penalty call, Erik Klein scored at 14:37 to make it a one goal game and Dubenski kept it a one goal game as he made a huge stop with three minutes left. With 20 seconds left in the period, the Adanacs called a timeout and capitalized on their set up as James Rahe scored with 1.2 seconds left on the clock.

The second period was all about defensive plays and goaltending with a dabble of goals. Goodwin regained the lead for the Mountaineers when he fired his one timer home 1:50 into the period. With big saves coming from the goaltender on either end, it wasn't until 15:25 till the Adanacs got their first goal of the period and it was an unlikely goal. As the shot clock was winding down, Jordan Gilles ripped it from centre and what looked to be a shot attempt instead was caught by McLaughlin who then turned around and scored with one second left on the shot clock.

The Adanacs went on a run near the tail end of the period as Rahe netted his second of the game at 16:37 and McLaughlin finished off a nice passing play at 17:36 to give the Adanacs a 6-4 lead. It was certainly good to see Rahe getting some offensive playing time because he wasn't getting any early on in the series and he now has two goals in game 4.

Rahe continued his great night into the third period as he scored his hat trick goal at 3:42 to give the Adanacs a three-goal lead. The Adanacs had an opportunity to really put the game away when Mountaineers' Cameron McIntosh took a bad delay of game penalty, but the Mountaineers were able to kill off the penalty. It was then the Mountaineers turn to go on the power play as Pace received two minutes for slashing at 10:21 and it was Patrick Henry who ripped it past Dubenski to make it a two-goal game.

The Adanacs did a great job defending as they limited the Mountaineers to under 10 shots before the final minutes. The Mountaineers began to pull their goalie with 3:30 remaining in the game and they come close on each possession as they hit the post three times with the third time hitting the back of Dubenski and slowly bouncing into the net with 45.8 seconds left on the clock.

Unfortunately, it was a terrible way to end the game for the Mountaineers as Tony Tremblay received a weak interference call with 11 seconds left on the clock while the Adanacs defender tossed the ball away. Shouts were heard loud and clear from the Mountaineers bench, but it was all over as the Adanacs defeat the Mountaineers 7-6 and advance to the 2014 Minto Cup.

Three Stars of the Game

Coquitlam, James Rahe - 3 Goals
Coquitlam, Eli McLaughlin - 2 Goals, 2 Assists
Calgary, Jordan Kancsal - 38 Saves, 7 Goals Against

The Coquitlam Adanacs will now take on the Ontario Champions, Six Nations Arrows in the 2014 Minto Cup. The best-of-7 West vs East series will take place at the Langley Events Centre starting August 16th.

Tickets for the 2014 Minto Cup Finals can be found here

Or by contacting the Langley Events Centre Box Office at (604) 882-8800