Royal Bank Cup

"Centennial Cup" redirects here. For the Colorado–Colorado State football rivalry, see Rocky Mountain Showdown.
Royal Bank Cup
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2016 Royal Bank Cup
Sport Ice hockey
Inaugural season 1996
(1971 Prior to RBC sponsorship)
Most recent
champion(s)
British Columbia West Kelowna Warriors (1st)
Most titles British Columbia Vernon Vipers (6)
TV partner(s) TSN
FASTHockey
Sponsor(s) Hockey Canada
Canadian Junior Hockey League
Related
competitions
CJHL Prospects Game
World Junior A Challenge
Western Canada Cup
Dudley Hewitt Cup
Fred Page Cup
Official website Royal Bank Cup Website

The Royal Bank Cup is an annual ice hockey competition that determines the Canadian Junior A champion. It is played under the supervision of Hockey Canada and the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Royal Bank of Canada is the title sponsor of both the tournament and the Royal Bank Cup championship trophy.

The forerunner to the Royal Bank Cup was the Manitoba Centennial Cup, which ran for 25 years from 1971 to 1995 inclusive.

Format

The current tournament structure is a five-team round-robin with a playdown. The participating teams are the three regional champions, the Western runner-up, and the host team.

Fred Page Cup: Eastern Champion
Dudley Hewitt Cup: Central Champion
Western Canada Cup: Western Champion and Runner-Up
Host Team: Predetermined by Canadian Junior Hockey League

Prior to the creation of the Western Canada Cup, the Doyle and Anavet Cup Champions played off for the Western Canadian Championship, the Abbott Cup, to advance to the Royal Bank Cup. The Doyle, Anavet, and Abbott Cups have since been retired in favour of the Western Canada Cup tournament.

Royal Bank Cup history

In May 1996, the inaugural Royal Bank Cup was held in Melfort, Saskatchewan, continuing the fine tradition of a National Junior ‘A’ championship. Each league across Canada sends their championship club to a regional qualifier, playing for the right to represent the region at the Royal Bank Cup tournament. The first ever winner of the Royal Bank Cup was the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League.

Since the first Royal Bank Cup tournament, every tournament has been played as a round robin tournament with a host city/team and four regional champions competing. By 2013, 18 Royal Bank Cups had been awarded. The winner of the Doyle Cup as Pacific Region champions has won a leading ten times. The winner of the Anavet Cup as Western Region champions and the winner of the Dudley Hewitt Cup as Central Region champions have both won twice. The winner of the Fred Page Cup as Eastern Region champions has also won twice. Although four host teams have won the Royal Bank Cup, two of which won their region to compete in the event they were hosting (Fort McMurray Oil Barons in 2000, Halifax Oland Exports in 2002) while two played strictly as hosts and not regional champions (Summerside Western Capitals in 1997, Weyburn Red Wings in 2005). In 2014, the Anavet Cup and Doyle Cup were retired in favour of the Western Canada Cup. The Western Canada Cup tournament included the champions of the four western leagues and a predetermined host city. The top two teams from event gain birth into the Royal Bank Cup. When the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League won the 2014 Royal Bank Cup, they gained entry into the tournament as the Western Canada Cup runner-up making them the first team in Centennial Cup/Royal Bank Cup history to win the national championship with out being the host or a regional champion.

Overtime is a common theme as the Royal Bank Cup, the longest game in RBC Cup history started on May 12, 2007 at Royal Bank Cup 2007 between the Camrose Kodiaks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League and the host Prince George Spruce Kings of the British Columbia Hockey League. The Spruce Kings won the game 3–2 6:01 into the fifth overtime period.[1] The game lasted 146:01, just short of the CJAHL record set by the Toronto Jr. Canadiens and the Pickering Panthers in the 2007 Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League playoffs (154:32).[2]

The Pembroke Lumber Kings won the 2011 Royal Bank Cup, and became the first Central Canada Hockey League team to win the National Junior A Championship since the 1976 Champion Rockland Nationals. From 1995 until 2011, no CCHL team made the Centennial Cup/Royal Bank Cup finals and saw a CCHL team lose the RBC semi-finals 6 times between 1997 and 2010.

In 2015, the Portage Terriers broke a 41-year-old drought that saw no MJHL team win the National Junior A Championship since the 1974 Selkirk Steelers. The Terriers also became the first team to win the Royal Bank Cup as the host team since the 2004-05 Weyburn Red Wings. Also in 2015, the Carleton Place Canadians of the CCHL became the first team in National Junior A history to lose back-to-back national titles.

To date, no teams from the Quebec Junior Hockey League, Superior International Junior Hockey League, or the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League have won the Royal Bank Cup.

2015 Royal Bank Cup at Portage la Prairie, Manitoba

Main article: 2015 Royal Bank Cup

Royal Bank Cup winners

Royal Bank Cup Round Robins
Year Champion Runner-Up Score Location
1996 British Columbia Vernon Vipers Saskatchewan Melfort Mustangs 2–0 Saskatchewan Melfort, Saskatchewan
1997 Prince Edward Island Summerside Western Capitals British Columbia South Surrey Eagles 4–3 Prince Edward Island Summerside, Prince Edward Island
1998 British Columbia South Surrey Eagles Saskatchewan Weyburn Red Wings 4–1 British Columbia Nanaimo, British Columbia
1999 British Columbia Vernon Vipers Prince Edward Island Charlottetown Abbies 9–3 Saskatchewan Yorkton, Saskatchewan
2000 Alberta Fort McMurray Oil Barons Ontario Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats 2–1 Alberta Fort McMurray, Alberta
2001 Alberta Camrose Kodiaks Manitoba Flin Flon Bombers 5–0 Manitoba Flin Flon, Manitoba
2002 Nova Scotia Halifax Oland Exports Manitoba OCN Blizzard 3–1 Nova Scotia Halifax, Nova Scotia
2003 Saskatchewan Humboldt Broncos Alberta Camrose Kodiaks 3–1 Prince Edward Island Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
2004 Ontario Aurora Tigers Saskatchewan Kindersley Klippers 7–1 Alberta Grande Prairie, Alberta
2005 Saskatchewan Weyburn Red Wings Alberta Camrose Kodiaks 3–2 Saskatchewan Weyburn, Saskatchewan
2006 British Columbia Burnaby Express Saskatchewan Yorkton Terriers 8–2 Ontario Brampton, Ontario
2007 Ontario Aurora Tigers British Columbia Prince George Spruce Kings 3–1 British Columbia Prince George, British Columbia
2008 Saskatchewan Humboldt Broncos Alberta Camrose Kodiaks 1–0 Ontario Cornwall, Ontario
2009 British Columbia Vernon Vipers Saskatchewan Humboldt Broncos 2–0 British Columbia Victoria, British Columbia
2010 British Columbia Vernon Vipers Manitoba Dauphin Kings 8–1 Manitoba Dauphin, Manitoba
2011 Ontario Pembroke Lumber Kings British Columbia Vernon Vipers 2–0 Alberta Camrose, Alberta
2012 British Columbia Penticton Vees New Brunswick Woodstock Slammers 4–3 Saskatchewan Humboldt, Saskatchewan
2013 Alberta Brooks Bandits Prince Edward Island Summerside Western Capitals 3–1 Prince Edward Island Summerside, Prince Edward Island
2014 Saskatchewan Yorkton Terriers Ontario Carleton Place Canadians 4–3 (OT) British Columbia Vernon, British Columbia
2015 Manitoba Portage Terriers Ontario Carleton Place Canadians 5–2 Manitoba Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
2016 British Columbia West Kelowna Warriors Saskatchewan Lloydminster Bobcats 4-0 Saskatchewan Lloydminster, Saskatchewan
2017 Ontario Cobourg, Ontario
2018 British Columbia Chilliwack, British Columbia

Manitoba Centennial Trophy history

The Manitoba Centennial Trophy was presented to the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) by the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association to commemorate their centennial year of 1970. It was in that year that the CAHA reconfigured their junior tier, creating two separate classifications - Major Junior and Junior "A." The Major Junior class encompassed the teams that made up the "Canadian Major Junior Hockey League" while the Junior "A" section included the remaining junior teams within the association. With the Memorial Cup established as a trophy exclusively for teams in the "Canadian Major Junior Hockey League", the Manitoba Centennial Trophy served as the trophy for the champions of this new Junior "A" division.

The Red Deer Rustlers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League defeated the Charlottetown Islanders of the Island Junior Hockey League in 1971 to claim the inaugural Canadian Junior A Championship and Manitoba Centennial Trophy, often referred to as the "Centennial Cup". The final Centennial Cup was awarded to the Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League in 1995.

The 1972 Centennial Cup was the focus of national attention. The Guelph CMC's of the Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League were in the final game of a four game sweep in the National Final against the Red Deer Rustlers when their leading scorer Paul Fendley lost his helmet during a body check and struck his head on the ice, knocking him into a coma. The National Hockey League prospect never woke up as he died a couple days later from head trauma.[3]

The 1990 Centennial Cup marked the only year that the national championship was decided between two teams from the same province or league. The host Vernon Lakers defeated the New Westminster Royals 6–5 in overtime to win the national championship. Both teams were members of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League.

Manitoba Centennial Trophy winners

Centennial Cup Final/Round Robin
Year Eastern Finalist Western Finalist Series Primary Location
1971 Prince Edward Island Charlottetown Islanders Alberta Red Deer Rustlers 2–4 Prince Edward Island Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
1972 Ontario Guelph CMC's Alberta Red Deer Rustlers 4–0 Ontario Guelph, Ontario
1973 Ontario Pembroke Lumber Kings Manitoba Portage Terriers 1–4 Manitoba Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
1974 Ontario Smiths Falls Bears Manitoba Selkirk Steelers 3–4 Ontario Nepean, Ontario
1975 Ontario Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters Alberta Spruce Grove Mets 2–4 Alberta Edmonton, Alberta
1976 Ontario Rockland Nationals Alberta Spruce Grove Mets 4–1 Ontario Rockland, Ontario
1977 Ontario Pembroke Lumber Kings Saskatchewan Prince Albert Raiders 0–4 Saskatchewan Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
1978 Ontario Guelph Platers Saskatchewan Prince Albert Raiders 4–0 Ontario Guelph, Ontario
Year Champion Runner-Up Score Location
1979 Saskatchewan Prince Albert Raiders Prince Edward Island Sherwood-Parkdale Metros 5–4 (OT) Saskatchewan Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
1980 Alberta Red Deer Rustlers Ontario North York Rangers 3–2 Ontario North York, Ontario
1981 Saskatchewan Prince Albert Raiders Ontario Belleville Bulls 6–2 Nova Scotia Halifax, Nova Scotia
Year Eastern Finalist Western Finalist Series Primary Location
1982 Ontario Guelph Platers Saskatchewan Prince Albert Raiders 0–4 Saskatchewan Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
1983 Ontario North York Rangers British Columbia Abbotsford Flyers 4–0 Ontario North York, Ontario
1984 Ontario Orillia Travelways Saskatchewan Weyburn Red Wings 3–4 Saskatchewan Weyburn, Saskatchewan
Year Champion Runner-Up Score Location
1985 Ontario Orillia Travelways British Columbia Penticton Knights 4–2 Ontario Orillia, Ontario
1986 British Columbia Penticton Knights Nova Scotia Cole Harbour Colts 7–4 Nova Scotia Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia
1987 British Columbia Richmond Sockeyes Saskatchewan Humboldt Broncos 5–2 Saskatchewan Humboldt, Saskatchewan
1988 Saskatchewan Notre Dame Hounds Nova Scotia Halifax Lions 3–2 Ontario Pembroke, Ontario
1989 Ontario Thunder Bay Flyers Prince Edward Island Summerside Western Capitals 4–1 Prince Edward Island Summerside, Prince Edward Island
1990 British Columbia Vernon Lakers British Columbia New Westminster Royals 6–5 (OT) British Columbia Vernon, British Columbia
1991 British Columbia Vernon Lakers Ontario Sudbury Cubs 8–4 Ontario Sudbury, Ontario
1992 Ontario Thunder Bay Flyers Manitoba Winkler Flyers 10–1 Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba
1993 British Columbia Kelowna Spartans Quebec Chateauguay Elites 7–2 Nova Scotia Amherst, Nova Scotia
1994 Alberta Olds Grizzlys British Columbia Kelowna Spartans 5–4 (OT) Alberta Olds, Alberta
1995 Alberta Calgary Canucks Ontario Gloucester Rangers 5–4 (OT) Ontario Gloucester, Ontario

Most championships by branch

Centennial/Royal Bank Cups by Province
Rank Region/Branch Championships Hosts
1 British Columbia British Columbia 14 5
2 Saskatchewan Saskatchewan 10 10*
3 Alberta Alberta 8 5
4 Ontario Ontario Hockey Association 6 6
5 Manitoba Manitoba 3 5
6 Ontario Hockey Eastern Ontario 2 5
- Ontario Hockey Northwestern Ontario 2 0
8 Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island 2 5
- Nova Scotia Nova Scotia 1 4
10 Ontario Northern Ontario Hockey Association 0 1
- New Brunswick New Brunswick 0 0
- Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador 0 0
- Quebec Quebec 0 0

Italicized "Regions" represent the four distinct regions of Ontario Junior hockey that traditionally participate in Junior "A". Hockey Northwestern Ontario includes the former Thunder Bay Amateur Hockey Association.

*Note: The province of Saskatchewan has hosted the tournament as indicated. However, the 2016 RBC Cup was hosted by the Lloydminster Bobcats, who play in Saskatchewan, but are members of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, governed by Hockey Alberta.

Roland Mercier Trophy

The Roland Mercier Trophy is awarded to the Most Valuable Player of the Royal Bank Cup Championship.

Game scoring records

Records included in this section took place in either Royal Bank Cup and Manitoba Centennial Cup tournament games and Manitoba Centennial Cup National Final Series games only.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/5/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.