The Saskatoon Contacts are going back to the Telus Cup National Midget Hockey Championship after defeating the Winnipeg Wild 4-3 in double overtime in the Telus Cup Western Regional Final at the Rod Hamm Memorial Arena on Sunday.
Ty Prefontaine scored the winning goal at the 11:06 mark of the second overtime period.
“In the back of our minds we knew that we worked all the way for a month and a half to make it here and we made it and it’s an amazing feeling,” Prefontaine said following the win.
The Contacts fell behind by one goal on three separate occasions. Jonah Bumphrey scored on a penalty shot to tie the game at three with 13:46 left to go in the third period. Quinton Ong, and Austin Wieler had the other Contacts goals. Isaac Labelle made 39 stops in the Contacts net.
Both Prefontaine and head coach Marc Chartier attributed the win to the team’s five weeks of intensive training. Having failed to make playoffs, Chartier said the team came in the underdog with less pressure but a strong desire to win.
“That kind of game they went through, it could have gone either way. Both teams had opportunities in overtime and our guys were very persistent and stuck to the game plan and it paid off.” Chartier said.
This year’s Telus Cup starts April 18 in Quispamsis, N.B.
It will mark the second time in four years the Contacts have advanced to the national tournament.
The last Saskatchewan team to win the Telus Cup was the Prince Albert Mintos in 2014.