BAKER SCORES TWICE, BLACK WINS U17 CAMP TITLE

JASON LA ROSE

CALGARY, Alta. – Dawson Baker (Baltimore, Ont./Quinte, OMHA) scored twice, including the game-winner on a second-period power play, and Black knocked off Red 5-1 on Monday afternoon to win the camp championship at Canada’s national under-17 development camp.

Jack McBain (Toronto, Ont./Don Mills, GTHL) added a goal and two assists for Black, which earned wins on back-to-back-to-back days – beating Gold, Green and Red – to claim the title.

“It’s a good feeling,” McBain said. “It was a long week for the boys, but we played really well and winning definitely makes it feel better.”

Owen Lalonde (Riverside, Ont./Windsor, MHAO) got Black on the board quickly, taking a feed from McBain in the slot and absolutely wiring a wrist shot over the glove of Red netminder Nathan Torchia (Baden, Ont./Waterloo, MHAO) just 4:17 in.

That would be it for scoring in a busy first period for both goaltenders; Torchia stopped 12 of the 13 shots he faced, while Black counterpart Jacob Ingham (Barrie, Ont./Barrie, OMHA) turned away all 10 he faced in his only period of work.

Both teams took their foot off the gas in the second, with just 11 shots combined in the middle frame.

But Baker doubled the Black advantage only three seconds into a power play, redirecting a shot from Giovanni Vallati (Ottawa, Ont./Vaughan, GTHL) past Torchia at 2:03, and McBain went five-hole at 7:15 to make it 3-0.

Black continued to run away with it in the final stanza, scoring twice more to increase its lead to five; Adam McMaster (Beamsville, Ont./Niagara North, OMHA) got a shot through Kevin Mandolese (Blainville, Que./Collège Esther-Blondin, LHMAAAQ) just shy of the midway mark of the period, and Baker added his second with 4:48 remaining.

The only thing left to decide was whether Ingham and Marshall Frappier (Nepean, Ont,/Nepean, HEO) would share a shutout, and Carson Miller (Yorkton, Sask./Yorkton, SMAAAHL) ended those hopes inside the final two minutes by converting on a Red power play.

“Obviously not the finish we wanted, but it was good to get that last goal and end on a positive,” Red forward Luka Burzan said. “We stuck to the plan and kept going no matter what. Unfortunate finish, but I’m proud of the guys.”

Black finished with a narrow 25-23 advantage in shots on goal, although it had fewer in the final two periods (12) than it had in the first (13).