Dylan Hudon, Cameron Eke and Spencer Young of the Collingwood Blues celebrate a first-period goal during their 5-2 win over the Miramichi Timberwolves in a Centennial Cup semifinal in Oakville Saturday. (Photo by Tim Bates/OJHL Images)
The Collingwood Blues will play for the national Jr. A championship on Sunday afternoon.
The two-time defending Ontario Junior Hockey League champions defeated the Miramichi Timberwolves 5-2 in Oakville Saturday.
The Blues will meet the winner of Saturday night’s other semifinal, an all-Western Canada affair between the Calgary Canucks and Melfort Mustangs, for the Centennial Cup.
“It was really good to have so many of our fans make the trip today. They were loud and it makes a real difference for us on the ice.”
TSN and RDS, the official broadcast partners of Hockey Canada, will broadcast the championship game on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
Jack Rimmer scored two goals and Cameron Eke had four assists in Collingwood’s win. The Blues are 5-0-0 in the 10-team tournament.
Eke was named player of the game for the Blues.
“I like to get involved in the offence and today I just got the points by being in the right place at the right time,” Eke told the OJHL. “We are looking forward to the final. Calgary played us very close and we have been watching Melfort and we know that either team will be a big test for us.
“Having, along with several others on the team, played in the Cup last year in Portage was a good experience. We have that under our belt and it has really stood us in good stead. But as the coaches pointed out to us, we have not won anything yet.”
Eke and teammates Spencer Young and Jack Rimmer have NCAA Division I commitments to the Niagara Purple Eagles in Western New York. Cameron has one more year of junior eligibility remaining.
The Blues held period leads of 2-0 and 4-1.
Dylan Hudon, Sam Lockyer and Ethan Facchina had the other Collingwood goals.
Noah Pak made 30 saves to earn his fifth win of the tournament.
Mark McIntosh has one goal and six assists at the tournament.
Not too bad for a “a farm boy from Elora,” as he calls himself. McIntosh had 35 regular season and playoff goals this season for the Blues and a goal and six assists at the Cup. He acknowledged the Collingwood faithful who made the two-hour drive to Oakville today.
“Whether I score the goals or set them up it doesn’t really matter because it’s always a team effort,” he said. “It was really good to have so many of our fans make the trip today. They were loud and it makes a real difference for us on the ice.”
“Today we were able to stay with our game plan and come out on top against a very good team. The balance of talent on this team makes the difference, this afternoon Sam Lockyer and Ethan Facchina played big games for us and both of them had goals. One more game to go to get where we want to be. We played Blues’ hockey today!”
For more information on the Centennial Cup, go to: https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/national-championships/men/national-junior-a/2024
-with files from Ron Valentine
