2010 RBC Cup

DAY 9 – SUNDAY, MAY 9
Graeme Gordon (G) – Vernon Vipers

The understudy to Andrew Hammond during last year’s run to the national championship, Gordon took the reins and ran with them in 2009-10, and capped off his season with a 23-save performance to lead the Vipers to a second consecutive RBC Cup title with a rout of Dauphin. His back-to-back point-blank saves off Steven Shamanski and Shane Luke helped Vernon keep a one-goal lead, and within 48 seconds it was a 4-0 advantage they would never relinquish. Gordon allowed just one goal in two playoff-round games, including a shutout of Brockville in Saturday’s semifinal.

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DAY 8 – SATURDAY, MAY 8
Connor Jones (F) – Vernon Vipers

He’s back! Returning to the ice for the first time since April 25, Jones scored the game-winning goal with 10 minutes to go, undressing a Brockville defender and slipping the puck five-hole on goaltender Justin Gilbert. He then set up twin brother Kellen to give the Vipers a little bit of breathing room with four minutes to go, helping Vernon back to the national championship game for the second year in a row. The Vipers will have the chance on Sunday to become the first team since the 1990-91 Vernon Lakers to win back-to-back National Junior A Championships when they face Dauphin.

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DAY 6 – THURSDAY, MAY 6
Shayne Thompson (F) – Brockville Braves

The Braves captain (and Patrick Kane look-alike) was in on the goal all three times Brockville took the lead in its win over La Ronge, setting up Maxime Dumond to put the Braves ahead 2-1, scoring himself for a 3-2 advantage and assisting on Shayne Stockton’s game-winner midway through the third, helping Brockville wrap up third place and set up a Saturday semifinal date with Vernon. Thompson finished the round robin with seven points (four goals, three assists), tying him with the Dauphin duo of Shane Luke and Ryan Dreger for the tournament lead.

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DAY 5 – WEDNESDAY, MAY 5
Ryan Dreger (F) – Dauphin Kings

Shane Luke may have lost his two-day hold on the Star of the Day, but the honour isn’t going very far – in fact, it’s not leaving Luke’s line. Dreger was the playmaker in the first period, setting up Luke for his tournament-leading fifth and sixth goals and contributing to Bryce Lamb’s power play goal, and showed his 53-goal form from the regular season midway through the third, snapping a shot under the crossbar for the game-winner, leading the Kings to their fourth straight win and the first perfect round robin by an RBC Cup host team since Halifax in 2002.

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DAY 4 – TUESDAY, MAY 4
Shane Luke (F) – Dauphin Kings

Make it two days in a row for the Kings’ passing whiz turned sharpshooter. One night after notching a pair of goals to lead Dauphin to a semifinal-clinching victory over Brockville, Luke did it again against La Ronge, scoring twice, including the game-winner with less than three minutes to go, and adding an assist to help the Kings become the first RBC Cup host team since the Streetsville Derbys in 2006 to finish first in the round robin at the National Junior A Championship. Luke now has four goals, one-third of his total from Dauphin’s entire playoff run to the RBC Cup, to lead all players.

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DAY 3 – MONDAY, MAY 3
Shane Luke (F) – Dauphin Kings

He was the MJHL’s assist king during the regular season, racking up a league-leading 72 helpers – 21 more than any other player – as part of a 101-point season, but Luke was a sniper for the Kings against Brockville, scoring his team’s first two goals in a win that lifted the 2010 RBC Cup hosts to first place midway through the round robin and a spot as the tournament’s last unbeaten team. Luke scored one dirty – driving to the net to poke home a loose puck – and one pretty – snapping a shot top shelf – to help ensure Dauphin’s home-ice winning streak reached 16 games.

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DAY 2 – SUNDAY, MAY 2
Scott Arnold (F) – Brockville Braves

It may have finished 11-2 in favour of the Braves, but Oakville had pulled to within a goal at 3-2 and was on the power play when Arnold stemmed the Blades’ momentum with a shorthanded goal, opening the floodgates and sparking a run of eight unanswered goals that helped Brockville score more goals than any RBC Cup game in the last 14 years and tie the all-time record for goals scored in a National Junior A Championship game. Arnold finished with three goals – all on special teams – and added two assists in Brockville’s first-ever RBC Cup win.

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DAY 1 – SATURDAY, MAY 1
Joel Danyluk (G) – La Ronge Ice Wolves

He was great at the start, great at the end and pretty darn good in between. Danyluk carried his hot streak from the SJHL playoffs into the first game of the 2010 RBC Cup, making 43 saves as the Ice Wolves earned an opening-day victory over the Oakville Blades. He stopped 10 shots in the opening 10 minutes alone, and added 17 more in the third period, when the Blades swarmed the La Ronge goal looking for the go-ahead goal. His easiest period? Overtime – it took  just 2:07 for Dan Conacher to score the winner, and Danyluk didn’t face a shot.