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MACSWAIN SCORES OT WINNER, SENDS SLAMMERS TO RBC CUP FINAL
HUMBOLDT, Sask. - Ben MacSwain was the overtime hero just 35 seconds into the extra period as the Woodstock Slammers advanced to the championship game at the 2012 RBC Cup with a 4-3 semifinal win over the Humboldt Broncos on Saturday afternoon.
The victory makes the Slammers the first team from the Maritime Hockey League to reach the final (Sunday, 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT, TSN2) since the Halifax Oland Exports won the national title in 2002, and the second East Region team in a row to play on the final Sunday - the Pembroke Lumber Kings were RBC Cup champions last year.
MacSwain found a loose puck in the Humboldt crease and flipped it past Broncos netminder Matt Hrynkiw to complete Woodstock's comeback from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits and make the Slammers the first team to reach their final in their first-ever appearance at the national championship since the Prince George Spruce Kings in 2007.
Tim Campbell scored twice and Sam Caldwell had the other goal for Woodstock, which got all three of its goals in regulation time from defencemen.
Down 2-0 early in the second period, Campbell's shot from the point hit a Humboldt player on the way through and eluded Hrynkiw, and he tied the game just under five minutes later on a Woodstock power play, streaking down the left wing and going bar-down on Hrynkiw.
Logan Sproule restored Humboldt's lead late in the middle frame, but Caldwell tied it up 6:24 into the third, hammering home a point shot on another Slammers power play, setting up MacSwain's heroics.
Ryan Marshall and John Lawrence scored the other two goals for the Broncos, both on first period power plays. Humboldt, which finished atop the preliminary round standings with a perfect 4-0 record, became the second host team in four years to lose in overtime in the semifinals - the Broncos beat Victoria 3-2 in 2009.
The Broncos' loss extends the host team's championship to drought to seven years - the 2005 Weyburn Red Wings were the last host team to hoist the RBC Cup on home ice.
Image Provided by Hockey Canada
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