By Craig Beauchemin

Semi-finals set at RBC Cup in Lloydminster

May 20, 2016 | 12:00 PM

The best Junior A hockey teams in Canada meet this weekend in Lloydminster for the right to be named national champion. The RBC Cup semi-finals take place Saturday, with the final concluding Sunday, May 22.

The preliminary round wrapped up yesterday, May 19, and saw the back-to-back runner up Carleton Place Canadians eliminated from championship contention.

After four games for each team during the round robin, the Trenton Golden Hawks of the Ontario Junior Hockey League sit atop the standings with a record of 3-0-1 for a total of 10 points. Right behind the Golden Hawks are the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League at 3-1-0 with nine points.

The West Kelowna Warriors of the British Columbia Hockey League were the only other team to pick up a regulation win during the round robin as they finished at 2-1-1. The host Lloydminster Bobcats won just one of their four preliminary round games; an overtime win over against the Canadians.

Three of the four remaining teams won their respective league, except the Bobcats were granted an automatic berth into the tournament for hosting the eight-day event.

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The two semi-final match ups are set for Saturday, the first being the Bobcats playing the Golden Hawks at 2:30 p.m. Those two teams played on the final day of the preliminary round, which saw Trenton walk away with a 4-1 win.

The Bandits will then play the Warriors at 7:30 p.m. These two teams are no stranger to each other, as they squared off in the Western Canada Cup (WCC) final in Estevan May 7. The Warriors dominated that matchup with a 6-0 victory, punching their ticket to Lloydminster.

In the rematch between the two on May 15, the Bandits won 5-1.

The two winners of the semi-finals will meet for a one-game playoff to be named national Junior A champions at 4 p.m. at the Lloydminster Centennial Civic Centre.

Three of the four teams are playing at their first RBC Cup, as only the Bandits have made it this far before. In 2013, the Bandits defeated the Summerside Capitals of the Maritime Hockey League for their first, and only, national championship.

cjnbsports@jpbg.ca       

Twitter: @craig_beauch