2014 Men's National Championships Recap Saskatoon, SK

Nine Men's teams from the coast of Brtish Columbia to coast of Newfoundland & Labrador gathered for the 38th CBHA National Championships in this prairie city and Province of Saskatchewan for the first time ever.

The Men's Division in 2014 saw some great parity in competition with many close games during round robin play. Montreal Red Lite and Manitoba Selects both finsihed at the top the standings undefeated at 4-0 after the round robin.

The quarter finals provided some great action for ball hockey fans at both Credit Union Centre and Cosmo Arena with the following results:

Montreal Red Lite 6 Saskatoon Buffalo 0
Manitoba Selects 4 Calgary Phantoms 2
Niagara Rebels 4 Vancouver Falcons 3
NL Black Horse 2 Edmonton Savages 1

In the first semi final Montreal Red Lite faced off with Niagara Rebels. This was one of the best games of the Men's Nationals. Niagara jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the first period only to see Red Lite come back with three goals in the final 6 minutes of the period to take the lead 3-2. Early into the second period Niagara tied it up. The teams went scoreless for nearly 15 minutes when Dominic Morency put a one timer by Daniel Mederios for the win with 2:39 left in the game to advance the Montreal Red Lite into the championship game.

The second semi final had Manitoba Selects against the Newfoundland & Labrador Black Horse. The teams traded goals early in the first period with the Black Horse netting two more before the period ended to take a 3-1 lead into the intermission. Manitoba opened the scoring in the second period and like a mirror image of the first the Newfoundand & Labrador squad scored two in the latter part of the period to get past Manitoba 5-2 and advance to Saturday's final match.

Saturday's medal round started out with Manitoba Selects facing Niagara Rebels in the Bronze Medal game. Manitoba opened the scoring and never looked back as they went on to defeat Niagara 4-1 and take home their second Bronze Medal since 2008.

The much anticipated Gold Medal game which all teams were striving for throughout the week was finally upon us. Teams and local ball hockey fans were in the stands to watch the legendary Montreal Red Lite take on the the Newfoundland & Labrador Black Horse. This is the second time these teams have matched uo in the CBHA Men's National Final in the last 3 years. Red Lite got out to an early 3-0 lead after the first period to what looked like a tired maritime squad. The second period was a Montreal Red Lite showcase. The Quebec team that dominated their opponents in the round robin scored seve more times with Newfoundland & Labrador only responding with one tally for the game for a 10-1 final score giving Montreal Red Lite their 10th National Championship title.

Medals
Montreal Red Lite - Gold Medal
NL Black Horse - Silver Medal
Manitoba Selects - Bronze Medal

Awards
Top Scorer - Dominic Morency (Montreal Red Lite)
Most Valuable Forward - Landon Burkley (Edmonton Savages)
Most Valuable Defense - Carl Ghilarducci (Montreal Red Lite)
Most Valuable Goalie - Sam Beauchamp (Montreal Red Lite)
Most Valuable Player - Dominic Morency (Montreal Red Lite)
 
All-Star Team
Goalie - Anthony Flores (NL Black Horse)
Defense - Cal Wild (Manitoba Selects)
Defense - James Pasternak (Saskatoon Buffalo)
Forward - Steve Dabadie (Calgary Phantoms)
Forward - Josh Barbas (Niagara Rebels)
Forward - Dustin Kelly (Manitoba Selects)