The 2007 Royal Bank Cup is the 37th Junior "A" 2007 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior A Hockey League. The 2007 National Champions were the Aurora Tigers, winning their second title in four years.
The defending 2006 champions were the Burnaby Express of the British Columbia Hockey League, but they failed to make it out of their league playdowns. This year's frontrunners were the Camrose Kodiaks and the Aurora Tigers. The Kodiaks were the top ranked team in the CJAHL for the first part of the season, while the Tigers were the nation's top team from the point that Camrose gave it up until now. The Pembroke Lumber Kings dominated the Central league and squeaked out of the regionals, while being known as a dangerous team they are still looking for their first National Title. The Selkirk Steelers are a tough team and have been thought to be a contender since early in the season. The host Prince George Spruce Kings should be well rested for the competition after a month off since being eliminated, the host is rarely not a factor at the Royal Bank Cup.
The tournament opened up on May 5, 2007. The first game took place between Prince George and Pembroke. Pembroke came out strong, but the first period closed out with a 1–1 tie. Prince George took control in the second, running up three goals, and eventually took the game 5–2. Historically, it is not uncommon for a well rested host team to surprise any of the four war-torn and jet-lagged regional champions at the Royal Bank Cup. Since the first Royal Bank Cup was awarded in 1996, the host team has won the championship four times in eleven tries.
On May 6, the Aurora Tigers started their tourney off strong, taking an early 3–0 lead against the Selkirk Steelers. The Tigers ran into some penalty troubles, but the game still ended up 4–2 in their favour. In the late game, Prince George came out strong against the Camrose Kodiaks and took an early 2–0 lead. The Kodiaks put on the heat in the second and from that point on scored four unanswered goals to take the game 4–2.
Day 3: May 7. The early game was between the Aurora Tigers and the Pembroke Lumber Kings. Aurora came out strong and took an early lead, but ran into rather lopsided penalty trouble and found themselves down 3–1 in the third. The Pembroke lead corresponded with a string of nine minor penalties, eight of which were given to the Tigers. The Tigers roared back to tie it at 3 late in the third, just to allow another Pembroke goal and then later a Pembroke empty netter. The Lumber Kings proved their worth with a 5–3 victory over the nation's top ranked team, although inconsistent refereeing may have also been a factor. Despite a hard-fought game and a great effort, the Selkirk Steelers were topped 3-1 by the Camrose Kodiaks.
On Day 4, three teams got to rest, but not Prince George and Aurora. Both teams coming off losses, this game was undeniably important. Despite outshooting the Tigers, the Spruce Kings were just out-gunned and were defeated by a 6–3 score.
May 8 started off with a duel between Camrose and Pembroke. Pembroke, flying high from a victory over top seated Aurora, ran into a brick wall and were shut down 3-0 by the Kodiaks. The late game was between Prince George and Selkirk. A win for either team would guarantee a semi-final spot for the victor. The game remained scoreless until the third where Prince George squeezed out a 2–1 victory. With the win Prince George clinched a playoff spot with a 2–2 record.
On the final day of the round robin came the much anticipated showdown between the top seeded Aurora Tigers and the second seeded Camrose Kodiaks. The Tigers jumped out to an early 2–0 lead, just to lose it on a pair of quick power-play goals by the Kodiaks. The Tiger went up 4–2 in the second. In the third it was very back and forth, but the Tigers out scored them in rather violent third period 3–2 to win the game 7–4. This may be the preview for a much anticipated rematch in the championship game. With the win, the Tigers climbed to 3–1 to clinch the top seed and the Kodiaks dropped to 3-1 and due to a tie breaker are relegated to 2nd seed and a semi-final against Prince George. Camrose chose to start back-up goaltender Keanan Boomer in the game while Aurora chose to stay the course with starter Tyler Gordon. Boomer had only played in one game since the end of the regular season up to this point. In the final game of the round robin, it was winner move on, loser go home. Pembroke and Selkirk battled it out in a tight and hard-fought game. Despite the Steelers outshooting the Lumber Kings, the Kings won 4–2. This sets up a rematch for Aurora and Pembroke in the Semi-final.
After a days rest, May 12 was semi-final day at the RBC tournament. The early game was 1st seed Aurora in a rematch against the only team to beat them in the round robin, 4th seed Pembroke. Part two of the battle of Ontario saw Pembroke carrying a 2–1 lead late in the second period. With less than 3 minutes to go in the second, Aurora knotted the game at 2 and a scoreless third forced an overtime period. At 2:21 of the overtime period tournament MVP Daniel Michalsky popped in a rebound to win the game for the Tigers.
The second semi-final was between 2nd seed Camrose and 3rd seed Prince George. Alain Joanette got Prince George on the board first, snapping a shot past Kodiaks goaltender Allen York almost 15 minutes into the opening period, and Vinny Muchalla got his first of the tournament three minutes into the middle frame on a controversial goal, putting the Spruce Kings up by a pair halfway through the game. The goal came as Muchalla slid into the net and knocked the net off the moorings, and the ref blew the whistle and had his arm in the air, calling the play dead. Then the puck was shot in the net and the ref called it a goal. Joe Colborne got the Kodiaks to within one just past the midway point of the second period, finishing off a beautiful set-up from linemates Scott Kobialko and Mike Connolly on a Camrose power play. After being stoned on numerous chances by the Spruce Kings' goalie Jordan White for more than 18 minutes in the third period, Jesse Todd undressed a Prince George defender and had a little breakaway, blasting a highlight reel goal past White, pulling the Kodiaks even with just 1:51 to go.
The game ended up being the longest game in Royal Bank Cup history at 146 minutes and 1 second as the Spruce Kings broke a 2–2 tie just over six minutes into the fifth overtime period to win 3-2 and clinch a berth in the RBC Cup Final against the Aurora Tigers. Jason Yuel of the Spruce Kings scored the winner while goaltender Jordan White stopped 91 of 93 shots for the victory.
The final was a nail-biter to the end. The Tigers were up 1–0 at the end of the first and 2–0 at the end of the second. Both teams were tired and in their sixth game of the tournament, but hitting was heavy and both teams battled hard. The Tigers scored early in the third on the power play, and the Spruce Kings scored with less than five minutes to play to keep the game close and interesting. The Tigers shut them down from there and clinched their second national title in four years. The Tigers finished the season with a record of 73 wins, 10 losses, and 1 tie and allowed no one to play spoiler on them from regular season game one, through the playoffs, the Dudley Hewitt Cup, or the Royal Bank Cup.
The Centennial Cup is an annual ice hockey tournament organized by Hockey Canada and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), which determines the national champion of junior A ice hockey. It is a ten-team round robin featuring the winners of all nine CJHL member leagues as well as a pre-selected host city.
The Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) is a Canadian Junior "A" ice hockey league operating in eastern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by Hockey Eastern Ontario and Hockey Canada and is a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The winner of the CCHL playoffs competes for the Fred Page Cup — the Eastern Region championship of the Canadian Junior Hockey League — with the winners of the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League and the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. The winner of the Fred Page Cup then moves on to compete for the national Centennial Cup.
The Prince George Spruce Kings are a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Mainland Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at Kopar Memorial Arena, which has a capacity of 2,112. The Spruce Kings won their first Fred Page Cup in the 2018/2019 BCHL Season. The Spruce Kings had a playoff record of 16-1, sweeping the last 3 playoff rounds, including the championship series.
The Oakville Blades are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Oakville, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The Aurora Tigers are a Canadian ice hockey team from Aurora, Ontario. They play in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. The team has previously played in the Metro Junior A Hockey League, Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League, and the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The Nepean Raiders are a Junior ice hockey team from Nepean, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Central Canada Hockey League. The town of Nepean was granted expansion after the Cornwall Royals and the Hull Hawks left the CJHL for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Raiders started their operations in the Valley division of the Junior "B" League in 1966, switching over to the Central Junior Hockey League in 1972.
The Brooks Bandits are a junior A ice hockey team in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play in Brooks, Alberta, Canada, with home games at the Centennial Regional Arena. The team was formerly in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), until they joined the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) in February 2024.
The Camrose Kodiaks are a Canadian Junior "A" ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). They play in Camrose, Alberta, Canada, with home games in the EnCana Arena, which has a seating capacity for approximately 2300 people.
Sheldon Keefe is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 47th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Following retirement from active play, Keefe served as head coach of the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), as well as the Maple Leafs' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, guiding the latter to their first Calder Cup championship in 2018.
The 2008 Royal Bank Cup was the 38th Junior "A" 2008 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The national championship was won by the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
The 1985 Centennial Cup is the 15th Junior "A" 1985 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior A Hockey League.
The 1984 Centennial Cup is the 14th Junior "A" 1984 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior A Hockey League.
The 2006–07 OPJHL season is the 14th season of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League (OPJHL). The thirty-six teams of the North, South, East, and West divisions will compete in a 49-game schedule.
The 2002–03 OPJHL season is the tenth season of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League (OPJHL). The thirty-five teams of the North, South, East, and West divisions competed in a 49-game schedule.
The 2010 Royal Bank Cup was the 40th Junior "A" 2010 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The 2010 Royal Bank Cup marked the 40th consecutive year a national championship has been awarded to this skill level since the breakaway of Major Junior hockey in 1970.
The 2010–11 OJHL season is the 17th season of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) and the first since the league existed as two separate bodies in 2009–10. The thirty-one teams of the North, South, East and West Divisions will play 50-game schedules.
The 2010–11 CCHL season was the 50th season of the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL). The twelve teams of the CCHL played a 62-game schedule.
The 2011 Royal Bank Cup was the 41st Junior "A" 2011 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The 2011 Royal Bank Cup marked the 41st consecutive year a national championship has been awarded to this skill level since the breakaway of Major Junior hockey in 1970.
The 2010–11 BCHL season is the 49th season of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). The regular season began on September 10, 2010 and ended on February 20, 2011.
The 2018 Royal Bank Cup was the 48th Canadian junior A Ice Hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior Hockey League and the 48th consecutive year a national championship was awarded to this skill level since the breakaway of Major Junior hockey in 1970. The tournament was played at the Prospera Centre in Chilliwack, British Columbia.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
