The Innisfail Eagles will have to wait until next year to achieve its Allan Cup dream.
The Bentley Generals have proven too strong, too talented and too disciplined. The defending Allan Cup champions dispatched the Stony Plain Eagles in four straight games in the semi-finals, outscoring their opponents 14-4.
In the finals, Bentley made it eight games in a row with a four-game sweep of the Eagles, outscoring them 20-11, with the two final games won in overtime.
On Friday night (March 21), the Generals held off a gutsy and proud Eagles squad to win game four of the Chinook Hockey League final series 6-5 in overtime. Bentley's sweep of the Eagles earns them the right to advance to the MacKenzie Cup series next month against B.C.'s Powell River Regals.
The Eagles opened game four hard and fast at home before a packed crowd of 1,080 fans at the Innisfail Arena. Kevin Smyth scored 97 seconds out of the gate and Michael Kneeland added another just two minutes later to give the Eagles a quick 2-0 lead early in the first period.
The Generals' Scott Kalinchuk scored on a power play marker at 10:19 but the Eagles got one back at 4:30 when Dan Shermerhorn scored on assists from Smyth and Joe Vandermeer.
But with just 54 seconds left in the first frame the Generals' power play clicked again. Craig Weller scored and the first period ended with the Eagles leading 3-2. The Birds also outshot the Generals 19-6 after the first 20 minutes.
The Eagles came out flying hard in the second with Shawn Bates scoring just 26 seconds in.
But the Generals' Chris Neiszner came back with a goal at 17:33 and Kalinchuk added his second of the game at 14:29 and the game was tied 4-4 after 40 minutes. The Eagles once again outshot Bentley in the period by a margin of 10-8.
In the final frame, Bentley finally took its first lead of the game on a goal by Randall Gelech at 15:00.
But the Eagles tied it up at 4:01 on a power play goal by Bates, his second of the game. The score was 5-5 and it ended that way after regulation.
And then at 14:54 Gelech ended it with his second marker of the game. The Generals won the game to move on in their quest to win its second consecutive Allan Cup.
Bentley will now play Powell River from April 3 to 7 for the 2014 McKenzie Cup. The winner of that best of five series will represent the Pacific Region at the Allan Cup championship, which is being held from April 14 to 19 in Dundas, Ont.
