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Champions!!
Friday September 5 2008
By MIKE RAWN Banner Staff Writer
 
The Orangeville Junior A Northmen put the finishing touches on their championship season with a 9-4 win over the Victoria Shamrocks in Saturday’s Minto Cup final in Calgary.
The Rayburn Construction Northmen finished first in the round robin portion of the tournament with a 3-0 record, earning a bye into Saturday’s final.
“We knew it was one game, one shot at the Minto Cup,” fifth year Northmen Jeff Ivey said immediately following the win. “We had to come out and play our best, because [Victoria] was going to play their best. It was all or
nothing, and we did it.”
Brandon Ivey started the scoring parade for Orangeville just 45 seconds into the game, followed by goals from Jeff Ivey and Jeremy Noble to give the Northmen a 3-0 lead.
Victoria got their first goal past Orangeville netminder Nick Rose with just under five minutes remaining in the opening period, but Stephen Keogh and Mat MacLeod scored to give the Northmen a commanding 5-1 lead after 20 minutes.
“We willed that first period to go our way,” Northmen coach Matt Sawyer said. “They had more quality chances in that first period than they did the whole game the first time we played [a 10-5 Orangeville win in the round robin]. Nick Rose came up big for us, and we buried our chances.”
The teams exchanged goals to open the second period, with MacLeod scoring his second of the night on the power play. Victoria crept back into the game on goals by Joel Henry and Cayle Radcliffe. The Radcliffe goal, with 22 seconds remaining in the period, closed the Northmen lead to 6-4.
“They had five power plays to one for us, so naturally we felt we got the short end of the stick,” Sawyer said about the second period. “But there was never a moment when we felt the game was getting away from us. We had a good talk between periods and came out strong. Craig England, the Fergus boy, scored with an underhand shot — and I don’t think he’s taken an underhand shot all year — and we never looked back.”
Orangeville regrouped quickly and took control of the final period, outscoring the Shamrocks 3-0. Goals were scored by England, Adam Jones and Keogh. Keogh, a late season pick-up from the Toronto Beaches, added five assists in the championship game, and was named the Most Valuable Player for the tournament.
“It was a whole team effort,” Keogh said. “This is amazing; this is something I’ve thought about since I started playing Junior A. To be a part of this team is something I’ll never forget.”
The Minto Cup championship was the first for the Northmen organization since 1996, and their fourth since entering the Junior A ranks in 1991.
Orangeville finished the regular season in first place with a 19-3 record, and rolled through the playoffs with an impressive 16-3 mark.
“We feel like we’ve got the best organization in the world,” Sawyer said.
“And that’s not arrogance; it’s just that we’re so proud to be Northmen. We’ve been to the Minto Cup in 2000 and 2003; we’ve always been close. But it’s been a long time since we’ve won one, and it’s a great feeling to be able to do it this year. I couldn’t be prouder of these kids.”