Pat Canadians 4 Optimist Chiefs 0
It wasn’t the final they had envisioned, but the Red Deer Optimist Midget Chiefs capped off a lengthy run at the Mac’s Midget tournament with a silver medal finish.
Taking on the supposedly tired Regina Pat Canadians, who had played a triple overtime game the day before, the Optimist Chiefs fell 4-0 Monday to close out the 40th edition of the tournament in Calgary.
Goalie Duncan Hughes stopped 27 of the 31 shots he faced, but it was Pat Canadians netminder Jared Thompson who got the shutout, stopping all 16 shots he faced. The Pat Canadians dominated the play early in the first period, scoring two quick goals to establish the early lead.
In the second, the Pat Canadians who came out firing again, scoring just 52 seconds into the play and taking a 3-0 lead.
The Optimist Chiefs best chance to spark a comeback came early in the third period, when they had a man advantage due to a checking to the head penalty.
However, the Pat Canadians penalty killers kept the Optimist Chiefs at bay.
The Pat Canadians iced the win with their fourth goal, coming on the power play with 12:30 in regulation.
The closest the Optimist Chiefs came to scoring came after Thompson mishandled a puck he had come out of his crease to play. A shot on net missed wide left and left the Optimist Chiefs scoreless in the final.
Players of the game were Ryan McBeath for the Optimist Chiefs, and Matthew Culling for the Pat Canadians.
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