For a second or two, Brad Smith froze in disbelief.
Then, raising his stick in the air and tossing his gloves aside, the Saint Mary’s Huskies forward leapt into the arms of teammate Mike Danton, the rookie goal scorer realizing the historic and happy nature of what he’d just accomplished.
An unlikely hero on a team full of talent, the Summerside, P.E.I. native delivered what no other hockey player in Saint Mary’s lengthy history had been able to – a national championship.
Smith’s goal, a backhander on the doorstep of Alberta Golden Bears goalie Travis Yonkman’s crease came at 9:13 of the first overtime. It gave the Huskies a 3-2 win at Fort William Gardens, in their first CIS championship game appearance in almost four decades.
Danton, whose tale of crime and punishment overshadowed the team at every turn, said he was as surprised as anyone that Smith, who had just six goals in the regular season and one in the playoffs, scored the goal.
“I couldn’t believe that Smitty put that in there. He couldn’t put the puck in the ocean, but he found a way to get his big ugly body in front of the net there and put it home, and that’s a beautiful sight,” said a tongue-in-cheek Danton, who a year ago was in prison serving the last months of a five-year span he spent behind bars for conspiracy to commit murder, when last the Huskies were in Thunder Bay, at the 2009 CIS championship.
The Brampton, Ont. native didn't dare to dream of the possibility a few short months ago, but said it's an unbelievable feeling now that it's happened.
"It means all the more than anything I've ever accomplished before. This is post-incarceration. It's a new person, it's a wonderful feeling, that's for sure," he said. "Saint Mary's gave me a second chance at life. Without them I wouldn't be here right now. I can't say enough about the school, about the embodiment of the whole community. It's fantastic what they've done. Everyone's been so positive, it mean's the world to me, that's for sure."
Danton’s character was on full display during the celebration.
The former NHLer, six years removed from his last professional season, his last time on skates for that matter, certainly had plenty to lose, entrenched in the spotlight as he was.
Afterward he showed he was just one of the guys, a 29-year-old who’s managed to keep his sense of humour intact and found a place that for once, makes him feel like he truly belongs.
“Are we gonna get some bling?” he shouted as the players lined up to get their medals, an inside crack at SMU coach Trevor Stienburg, who wears a championship ring on his still meaty hands.
Seconds later he raced off the dressing Huskies dressing room and returned with a blue bucket filled with a lemon-yellow Gatorade, snuck past a phalanx of teammates and drenched an unsuspecting Stienburg – and a few unlucky reporters – from behind; Stienburg, the man who agreed to take a chance on the most notorious man in hockey, perhaps the final chance he’d ever get in the game.
“I can drown in this stuff for a win,” said a sticky Stienburg, who 18 months ago was on death’s doorstep, only to return and deliver back-to-back Atlantic University Sport championships. “It’s unbelievable.”
Smith, the goal-scorer, wasn't sure what to think.
“This is by far the biggest goal of my career. To be honest it’s probably the biggest goal I’ll ever score in my career,” Smith said, a whirlwind 20 minutes or so after the celebration began.
“I just have to give thanks to my teammates. We’re just a hardworking team, a character team. We finished third in the AUS division. We certainly didn’t expect to come to the nationals and win it, but we always had hope and always believed we could.”
Though Alberta was the favourite on paper, and possessors of 13 titles since 1963, the Huskies players never let that get in their head, Stienburg said.
“You know something? In the dressing room … they believed they could win. I can remember one of them saying, ‘Boys there’s going to be one person in here who is going to make heroes out of everybody.’ And that’s what happened.”
The Golden Bears, champions last in 2008, took the early lead when Tyler Metcalfe beat tournament all-star Neil Conway at 14:21 of the opening period, a period that saw Alberta outshoot Saint Mary’s 12-5.
Cam Fergus tied it up midway through the second, tipping home a Cody Thornton shot through traffic, the only goal of the period.
Cue the third period and what could have been a next-goal-win scenario, the two teams were playing so tight a game of hockey.
Andrew Hotham, the tournament MVP, fired a shot from the left point that eluded a screened Yonkman, and with 16 minutes to go, the Huskies had their first lead.
They had their chances to put it away too, but destiny intervened, if only for a few minutes. Justin Munden, with SMU playing shorthanded and nine minutes to go, broke free on Yonkman, but fired the puck into the Alberta goalie’s chest.
Danton had a partial breakaway a minute or so later, but was chopped down and the Huskies were given a rare power play.
Then, with 4:43 between the Huskies and their elusive title, the inevitable happened. Alberta's Ian Barteaux, who joined Hotham on the all-tournament blueline, fired a pass from the sideboards to a waiting Derek Ryan. Ryan deflected it past Conway and the game was tied.
But a 14th title was not to be.
Mark Ashton hit the post beside Conway six minutes into overtime, hustled back and stopped Danton on another break – only to cut his wrist on Danton’s skate and be rushed to the hospital. It’s as close as they’d come to scoring.
“You get into overtime and it’s a shot to the net, it’s a one shot wins it type of thing,” said two-time champion Alberta coach Eric Thurston. “Yes, it’s a sour feeling obviously, and it will be for a long, long time. But I told the guys we can’t have one game define who we are and define our season.”
Game Notes: The Huskies played without star forward Colby Pridham, who sat with an injury. Pridham’s jersey, along with those of fellow scratches Cory Chipman and Andrew White, was hung behind the Saint Mary’s bench … SMU forwards Cam Fergus and Cody Thornton and Alberta forward Chad Klassen were also named to the tournament’s all-star team.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring:1. Alberta, Metcalfe (Price, McDonald) 14:21. Penalties: Barteaux ALT (tripping) 6:44, Gardner ALT (tripping) 10:35, Gimblett ALT (roughing), O’Donnell SMU (checking from behind, game misconduct) 18:54.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Saint Mary’s, Fergus 3 (Thornton, Rancourt) 10:37. Penalties: Cuthbert SMU (cross checking) 3:53, Barteaux, ALT (interference) 16:26.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 3. Saint Mary’s, Brophy 2 (Hotham, Doucet) 3:46. 4. Alberta, Ryan 1 (Barteaux, Klassen) 15:17. Penalties: Conway SMU (holding, served by Smith) 4:46, MacDonald SMU (hooking) 10:07, Ashton ALT (tripping) 12:36.
OVERTIME
Scoring: 5. Saint Mary’s, Smith 1 (Rancourt) 9:13. Penalties: None.
GAME DATA– SOG – Alberta 12-11-11-6-40, Saint Mary’s 5-8-9-4-26; Power plays (goals-chances) – Alberta (0-4), Saint Mary’s (0-3); Goaltenders – Alberta: Travis Yonkman, Saint Mary’s: Neil Conway; A: 2,366 (paid).
