(Photo: Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images)
Two-minutes is what the Penticton Vees want back from their 3-1 loss to the Terrebonne Cobras on Thursday afternoon at the RBC Cup in Cobourg, Ontario.
The Cobras (2-2-0) scored twice inside the final two-minutes of the first period and added another in the second period, handing the Vees (2-1-1) their second loss of the round-robin at the National Junior A Championship.
Pierre-Anthony Martineau and Gabriel Paquin scored 78-seconds apart inside the final two-minutes of the first period, and Benjamin Boheimer added an insurance marker midway through the second, as the Cobras rebounded from a 6-1 loss to Cobourg on Tuesday.
Penticton ran into a hot goaltender, as Terrebonne’s Jeremy Belisle was the Cobras’ Player of the Game, making 37-saves for his second win of the RBC Cup.
Owen Sillinger scored a power-play goal early in the third period to cut into the deficit but that’s as close as the Vees would get on Thursday, as their two-game win streak came to an end. Mat Robson was tagged with the loss, despite an impressive outing, stopping 31 of 34 shots.
Terrebonne had a great opportunity to open the scoring midway through the first when Paquin was awarded a penalty-shot. However, the Terrebonne forward bobbled the puck trying to go to onto his backhand and couldn’t jam it past Robson.
Penticton did run into penalty-trouble late in the first and the Cobras took advantage of a five-on-three power-play. Robson stopped a quick shot on the doorstep but the puck dribbled through his legs and Martineau was there in the crease to tap in the rebound at 18:02.
Paquin got a measure of revenge a short while later. Robson came out of his net to play the puck, but he had his clearing attempt hit a stick behind the goal and jet back out front. The puck squibbed out to Paquin who jammed it in past a diving Robson at 19:20.
Boheimer made it 3-0 Terrebonne seven and a half minutes into the second and just seconds after a Vees’ power-play expired. Mikael Lafrance darted down the left-wing and fed the puck to Boheimer, which he then fired over the shoulder of Robson from the circle at 7:28.
Sillinger got the Vees on the scoresheet nearly seven-minutes into the third period, as he crashed the crease hunting down a rebound. On the power-play, James Miller had his point shot kicked-out but it came right to Sillinger, which he forced past the pad of Belisle for his first at 6:48.
Not long after the Vees thought they had another goal but the referee ruled he had blown the whistle before Grant Cruikshank had jammed a rebound in from the crease.
Final Score: 3-1 Terrebonne
Shots: 38-34 Vees
Power-Plays: Vees 1-5 Terrebonne 1-3
Player of the Game: Vees- Owen Sillinger Terrebonne- Jeremy Belisle
Game Notes:
The Vees have to wait for the outcome of the Brooks, Cobourg round-robin finale Thursday night, to see who they’ll face in a Semi-Final match up. The Semi-Finals are at 2:30 pm ET and 7:30 pm ET on Saturday, May 20th. EZ Rock AM 800 will carry the Vees’ semi-final contest. The game will also be streamed on www.HockeyTV.com.
