Twenty seconds - that's how close Gibsons Aaron Portman came to hoisting the Keystone Cup Sunday night.
The Campbell River Storm played host to the 2006 Keystone Cup, the Western Canadian Junior B championship last week. The Storm, who lost out earlier in the month in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League finals, were not predicted by many to do much of anything at the Keystone Cup. But the Storm changed those predictions in a hurry with an opening 4-2 win over the B.C. champion Delta Ice Hawks. Portman registered one assist in the game.
The Storm's momentum continued as they won their second game 2-1 over the Red Deer Vipers, blew out the K&A Wolverines from Northern Ontario 8-2 in game three and edged the North Winnipeg Satellites 2-1 in game four.Portman picked up a goal in the win over the Wolverines.
In their final round robin game, the Storm tied the Saskatoon Royals 5-5, placing them in top spot, earning a place in the final.
Up 2-0, the Vipers scored once to cut the lead to 2-1 and with just 20 seconds to play in the third period, tied the game 2-2. Red Deer scored the winner in overtime to take home the cup.
"It's disappointing to know that you were that close," said Portman. "It was an awesome experience, something that I'll remember for a while. I'm pretty satisfied with the whole year. When we fell short in the playoffs and didn't go to provincials, many people counted us out at the westerns. Once we won that first game, people started believing."
Portman was due back on the Coast on Wednesday. This was his last season of junior hockey. He said he plans to take the next year off to consider his options.
To kick off the Keystone Cup, a charity alumni game was held in Campbell River. The game was in honour of Kyle Blanleil, a Storm goalie who was diagnosed with a tumour on his back. He has had surgery and has since recovered. Blanleil remains a big part of hockey in the Campbell River area and brought the idea of the alumni game to team officials. The game featured past Storm players, including Sechelt's David Arduin.
