The Sistine Chapel, Golden Gate Bridge, NASA and the Bentley Generals are just a few examples of persistence paying off. In fact...it would be cool if the 2013 Allan Cup parade route includes stops in The Vatican, San Francisco and...of course...The Moon.

 

Maybe there are more fitting or realistic comparisons you would come up with...but...I don't think so...there is really no comparison to what went on last week in Red Deer, where the Bentley Generals hosted and won the 2013 Allan Cup.

 

I've enjoyed nine Allan Cups tournaments since 2004. Each was different in its own special way and some were better than others. None of them came close to the splendid job done in 2013. The people, the facilities, the food, the action, the entertainment...everything...was taken to a whole new level. It was truly something special to experience.

 

The Town of Bentley, the Gen's executive, the City of Red Deer, the Allan Cup volunteer committee and all the sponsors of the Bentley Generals and the 2013 Allan Cup got together to make it happen and the only thing I think comes close to ever giving enough thanks for what they accomplished...was the one thing we all wanted more than anything else: The Allan Cup.

 

The 6 day tournament has been good...but not great...to the Generals over the years. With all the miles and magnificent efforts, the 2009 National Championship was starting to feel like an "only son". Not that there is anything wrong with proud parents of "just" one off-spring...but sometimes...without a sibling to keep them occupied these kids might get into trouble at school. They could grow up to be arsonists, transients or...even worse...lawyers.

 

So, having greatly offended single child families (including my own) let it be understood, the 2009 banner needed a brother.to hang with.

 

Six teams from across Canada converged in Red Deer last week. The Generals, having dominated the Chinook League and Alberta Provincials, weren't sneaking in unheralded. They were a consensus favorite, along with Saskatchewan juggernaut, Rosetown Red Wings. As fortune would have it, that was the marquee match-up on day one in the big dance. Earlier in the day, the crowd was big when Fort St John grinded past Stony Plain, 3-2. The evening game was full right past the rafters. Everyone wanted to see what all the fuss was about. What they witnessed in the late going of that game...nobody could have ever predicted. The two teams locked each other into an air tight defensive battle which produced only 8 shots on net total after 20 minutes. The Gens' had a few more chances in the middle period but couldn't solve Kelly Guard. Dan Bakala maintained a clean slate on the Gens' side of the score.

 

Mid-way through the 3rd, Jeremy Colliton's shot deflected off a skate for a PPG. The 'Wings made a push to break Bakala's shut-out but felt they would need some extra manpower to pull even. With just over a minute to go, Kelly Guard headed towards the Rosetown bench while his team tried to organize an entrance into the Gens' end of the rink. The puck ended up being steered innocently towards Bakala just as Guard was within an oar length from his bench. Bakala calmly unloaded a 200 foot frisbee saucer between two forecheckers and over the head of at least one other. With decent weight and deadly curl, the impossible happened. Bakala, scored into an empty net!

 

Hockeys version of a hole-in-one. We've seen a highlight or three of Brodeur or Hextall scoring goals. It's happened, no doubt. Seeing it live, is a different thing altogether. It was a hot topic for the next 24 hours. For the Generals players, their job was to make sure it stayed a highlight of the night rather than the week.

 

With a crucial round robin win in the books, The Army headed over to "P's & Q's" to celebrate the win and discuss the days events. People were already voicing their good impressions of the tournament and I heard more than a few opinions on how big and strong the Rosetown team was. The tournament was only one day in...but...there was a sentiment we might be seeing Rosetown again at some point.

 

The Allan Cup tournament has a funny way of constantly finding ways to surprise its pundits. On day two, a dark horse contender erupted from out of a 5 minute span in the matinee game. Atlantic Champion, Clarenville Caribous, only 2 years removed from having beaten Bentley for the 2011 Allan Cup faced off against Fort St John. The 'Bous made an early impression with their speed and skill. They were taking the game to the Flyers right from the outset and Clayton Pool was making some amazing saves to keep the score close. Pool's acrobatics proved to be much less than sustainable. The 2010 Allan Cup All-Star left the game after another big save in the 2nd period. Troy Hunt came on in relief and was beaten on the first shot he faced.

 

The 3rd period produced the tournamnets first major penalty. Bryan Lewis was called for a vicious slash and Clarenville used the extended man advantadge as a springboard. They ascended to record setting heights by pounding 6 PPG's on the 5 minute powerplay. It was an astounding display of precision and skill. Hunt was hanging in the wind while the Newfoundlanders ran away with the game. The final score ended up 9-3. It was a devestating loss for the B.C. Savage Cup Champion to which they never seemed to recover. The Bous' had put the entire tournement on its ear.