Following their semi-final series win over Saugeen Shores, The
Miller Insurance Midget Rep Kinucks swept the Listowel Cyclones with a 3-0 road
win on February 4 to lift the WOAA Midget B Championship. The victory sets the
Kinucks up for an All-Ontario quarter-final series against the Elmvale Coyotes.
Elmvale reached this stage by defeating Penetang who Kincardine had beaten in
the finals of both the Archie McMillan and Bobby Orr Hall of Fame tournaments.
Missing their injured captain Shane Vollmer for the whole series, the Kinucks got off to the best possible start in Game 1 in Kincardine on 31 Jan with an unassisted Evan Brown goal from the point after 30 seconds. An exciting end to the first period saw Listowel tie it up with a goal with under a minute left only for Scott McFarlan to score on a breakaway with 6.7 seconds to the horn. Two Listowel power play goals in the second period and a Kincardine goal from Skylar Rutledge, assisted by Kyle Hunter, made for a close contest until Rutledge fired the winner in the third from Jakob Dunlop and Ethan Long.
Now facing two consecutive road games, the Kinucks upped their game for two impressive wins in the Cyclones own barn, always a tough place to play. Game 2 on Feb 1 saw the rivals tied at 2-2 going into the third, Kincardine’s markers coming from McFarlan and Grant Stevens, with an assist to Sam Culmer. The Kinucks then blew the Cyclones away in the third with four unanswered goals for a 6-2 win. Scorers were Brett Burrows, McFarlan, Skylar Rutledge and Sheldon McBride, assisted by Hunter, Brown, Rutledge and Tyson Rutledge.
For the series-winning third game on Feb 4, the Kinucks followed head coach Cory Hamilton’s playbook to the letter with a patient, controlled team game which paid off with a comfortable 3-0 win and the trophy celebrations. Tyson Rutledge bagged two markers in this one, the third going to Stevens and assists to McFarlan, Burrows and Long.
Outstanding teamwork from the whole roster and excellent coaching from Cory Hamilton, Blake Alton and Brett Binning was a great foundation for the fourth trophy win of the season. Special mention must be made too of the goaltending of Ethan Primeau and Dalton Regier, who were outstanding in both WOAA series.