The Collingwood Blues continued their strong play Tuesday afternoon, earning their third straight win at the Centennial Cup tournament in Manitoba.
The Blues earned a 4-1 win over the Kam River (Ont.) Fighting Walleye to improve their record to 3-0 at the Canadian National Hockey League championship tournament. The win puts the Blues in first place in their group so far.
The Collingwood Blues beat Kam River 4-1 Tuesday afternoon. Dylan Hudon was named player of the game for the Blues.
— Mike Jackson GM Collingwood Blues (@CwoodBluesJrA) May 16, 2023
The Blues currently sit in first of Group B. The Blues play host Portage Wed night with a chance to win the division and earn a bye to the National Semis. pic.twitter.com/gsE431pw29
While neither team scored in the first period, the Blues scored the only two goals of the second frame, with the first coming at the five-minute mark from Bryce Sutherland with an assist from Spencer Young. Five minutes later, Dylan Hudon scored, with an assist by Mark McIntosh, to stretch the lead to 2-0.
In the third period, the Fighting Walleye came back with a goal by Jeremy Dunmore and assists by Josh Morton and Anthony Oveido at nearly two minutes. However, the Blues came back strong with two more goals later in the third period, by Cam Garvey (assisted by Dylan Hudon) and Ethan Broderick (assists by Sean Clarke and Mark McIntosh).
Blues goalie Noah Pak shone between the pipes, making 22 saves. Fighting Walleye goalie Eric Vanska also had 35 saves.
The Blues will play game four on Wednesday, May 17 at 8:30 p.m. ET against the Portage (Man.) Terriers. Another Blues viewing party event will be held at the Collingwood Royal Canadian Legion on Wednesday night for Collingwood supporters to cheer on the Blues from afar.
The series runs until May 21 at Stride Arena in Portage la Prairie, Man. The winner of the series will take home the Centennial Cup and be the 2023 Canadian National Hockey League champions.
Defenceman Ayden Dooley, from Orillia, is a key blueliner for the Blues, while the team's associate coach, Nick Ricca, is also from Orillia.
The full Centennial Cup schedule, current stats and livestream game links can be found here.
