| National Junior A Championship | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Venue(s) | Elgar Peterson Arena inHumboldt, Saskatchewan |
| Dates | May 5, 2012 – May 13, 2012 |
| Teams | 5 |
| Final positions | |
Champions  | Penticton Vees(2nd title) |
Runner-up  | Woodstock Slammers |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 13 |
| Awards | |
| MVP | John Kleinhans (Soo) |
The2012 Royal Bank Cup was the 42nd Junior "A" 2012ice hockey National Championship for theCanadian Junior Hockey League. The 2012 Royal Bank Cup marked the 42nd consecutive year a national championship had been awarded to this skill level since the breakaway ofMajor Junior hockey in 1970.
TheRoyal Bank Cup was competed for by the winners of theDoyle Cup,Anavet Cup,Dudley Hewitt Cup, theFred Page Cup and the host team, theHumboldt Broncos of theSaskatchewan Junior Hockey League.[1]
The tournament's round robin stage began on May 5, 2012, and the final was played on May 13, 2012. Tournament games were played at theElgar Peterson Arena inHumboldt, Saskatchewan. Like every other year of the RBC round robin, it consisted of 5 teams in 2012.
Since theHumboldt Broncos were the 2012SJHL regular season champions and playoff champions, the Broncos still moved on to compete for the 2012Anavet Cup. The Broncos turned out to be successful in the best of 7 2012Anavet Cup series, defeating the 2012MJHL playoff champion thePortage Terriers 4–3. Since theHumboldt Broncos hosted the 2012 RBC, thePortage Terriers received a berth in the tournament because every year during the RBC tournament the host teams automatically play, even if they missed or lost out of the playoffs early.[2]
ThePenticton Vees of theBCHL entered the tournament as BCHL andDoyle Cup champions, with a BCHL record 42-game winning streak under their belt from earlier in the year. While breaking the BCHL record, the Vees rivaled but did not surpass the nationwide Junior A records of the 1999-2000Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (49 games,NOJHL), 1989-90Sudbury Cubs (48 games, NOJHL), or 1981-82Flin Flon Bombers (46 games,NJHL).
ThePenticton Vees won their second-ever National Junior A Championship with a 4–3 come-from-behind victory over theMaritime Junior Hockey League'sWoodstock Slammers. The Vees led 2–0, but the Slammers stormed back to take a 3–2 lead past the halfway point of the third period. Soon after, the Vees scored to tie it in a game that seemed destined[citation needed] for overtime. In the final eight and a half minutes of play, the Slammers took three consecutive penalties, in which the Vees scored in the final minute of the final power play with 51 seconds remaining in the game to clinch the Royal Bank Cup. During the regular season, the Vees and Slammers were both nationally ranked #1 teams for most of the season, setting up a very evenly matched final.
| Pos | League (Ticket) | Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SJHL (Host/Anavet Cup) | Humboldt Broncos | 4 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 6 | +9 | Semi-final |
| 2 | NOJHL (Dudley Hewitt Cup) | Soo Thunderbirds | 4 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 0 | |
| 3 | BCHL (Doyle Cup) | Penticton Vees | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | |
| 4 | MHL (Fred Page Cup) | Woodstock Slammers | 4 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 14 | −4 | |
| 5 | MJHL (Anavet Cup finalist) | Portage Terriers | 4 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 15 | −6 | Eliminated |
All games at the Elgar Peterson Arena in Humboldt, SK.
| Game | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Score | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, May 5, 2012 | ||||||||||
| 1 | Penticton Vees | 1 | Soo Thunderbirds | 2 | Final - Shots: 45-15 PEN | |||||
| 2 | Woodstock Slammers | 1 | Humboldt Broncos | 4 | Final - Shots: 37-35 HUM | |||||
| Sunday, May 6, 2012 | ||||||||||
| 3 | Portage Terriers | 4 | Soo Thunderbirds | 3 | 2OT Final - Shots: 72-44 POR | |||||
| 4 | Humboldt Broncos | 3 | Penticton Vees | 2 | OT Final - Shots: 43-31 HUM | |||||
| Monday, May 7, 2012 | ||||||||||
| 5 | Portage Terriers | 1 | Woodstock Slammers | 4 | Final - Shots: 35-29 WST | |||||
| Tuesday, May 8, 2012 | ||||||||||
| 6 | Soo Thunderbirds | 0 | Humboldt Broncos | 3 | Final - Shots: 42-19 HUM | |||||
| 7 | Woodstock Slammers | 1 | Penticton Vees | 2 | Final - Shots: 41-21 PEN | |||||
| Wednesday, May 9, 2012 | ||||||||||
| 8 | Penticton Vees | 3 | Portage Terriers | 1 | Final - Shots: 27-26 PEN | |||||
| Thursday, May 10, 2012 | ||||||||||
| 9 | Soo Thunderbirds | 7 | Woodstock Slammers | 4 | Final - Shots: 35-19 WST | |||||
| 10 | Humboldt Broncos | 5 | Portage Terriers | 3 | Final - Shots: 35-30 POR | |||||
| Game | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Score | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, May 12, 2012 | ||||||||||
| 11 | Humboldt Broncos | 3 | Woodstock Slammers | 4 | OT Final - Shots: 43-24 HUM | |||||
| 12 | Soo Thunderbirds | 0 | Penticton Vees | 3 | Final - Shots: 33-20 PEN | |||||
| Game | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Score | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, May 13, 2012 | ||||||||||
| 13 | Penticton Vees | 4 | Woodstock Slammers | 3 | Final - Shots: 34-25 PEN | |||||