POWELL RIVER, B.C. - The Powell River Regals were simply too much for the Whitby Dunlops to handle in the Allan Cup senior AAA national championship game.
The host team scored twice in the first five minutes and blew the game open with three unanswered goals in the second period en route to a 7-1 win before some 2,000 enthusiastic fans at the Powell River Recreation Complex.
“No question, that was the best team we’ve played all year, hands down,” said Whitby coach Mike Posavad after the game. “They’ve got a lot of experience, they work hard and they’re solid at every end of the ice.”
As a testament to Powell River’s dominance, they had four players on the tournament all-star team: defencemen Kip Noble and Misko Antisin, forward Rick McLaren and goalie Chad Vizzutti.
They boasted three additional players with National Hockey League experience, including former all-star Mike Ridley, who scored twice in the Allan Cup final.
“We’ve got a lot of talent, obviously. We built the team to win,” said Regals coach Tod English. “We had eight guys in the stands who all can play. We used everybody but two guys this week. We managed our bench well. And our goalie is unbelievable. We have the best goalie in senior hockey by far.”
Mike MacKay also scored twice, while Noble, Antisin and Randall Smisko added singles for the Regals.
The Dunlops nearly scored late in the first period, when Brent Grieve hit the post on a power play, but never challenged after that.
Ron Baker broke the shutout with 4:01 remaining, beating Scott Peters, who had come in for Chad Vizzutti with 7:38 left and Powell River leading 7-0.
Despite the disappointing end, the Dunlops had a terrific season, surviving three tough series simply to earn the Ontario berth at the tournament.
And they reached the Allan Cup final despite the fact three of their top defencemen -- Brian Grieve, Mike Van Volsen and Bob McQuat -- were playing with separated shoulders.
“A lot of our key defencemen had pretty serious injuries, probably shouldn’t even be playing,” said captain Peter MacKellar, himself recovering from a severe virus. “For them to keep giving an effort is phenomenal. I’m really proud of all the guys. That just shows off the character and really the perseverance of the team.”
The Regals were the class of the tournament, winning all four games they played, including an identical 7-1 decision over the Trail Smoke Eaters in the semifinals.
Noble was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
Powell River also won the Allan Cup on home ice in 1997 and in Lloydminster, Sask., in 2000.
