Manitoba wins province’s first ever gold medal at 2023 WHL Cup
Red Deer, Alta. – Brek Liske scored twice in the shootout as Manitoba defeated Alberta by a 6-5 margin to claim the first ever Gold Medal for the Keystone Province at the 2023 WHL Cup presented by FPS Payment.
Manitoba persevered Sunday afternoon at the Peavey Mart Centrium in Red Deer.
After staking out a 5-3 lead in the third period, Manitoba watched as Alberta erased the two-goal spread to force overtime. Following 10 minutes of scoreless extra time, the two squads were off to the shootout where Liske (Everett Silvertips / Beausejour, Man.) scored on two of his three attempts while netminder Peyton Shore (Red Deer Rebels / Winnipeg, Man.) steered aside five of the six Alberta shots as Manitoba emerged victorious for the first time in WHL Cup history.
GAME SUMMARY
PLAYER STATISTICS
Manitoba had previously earned Silver Medal finishes in 2015 and 2019.
While Shore stopped five of six pucks in the shootout, he also did his part through regulation and overtime. Peppered with 58 shots, the fifth-round pick of the Rebels made 53 saves in an impressive performance between the pipes.
The two teams traded goals early on in the affair with Patrick Sopiarz (Prince George Cougars / Edmonton, Alta.) and Caelan Joudrey (Wenatchee Wild / Airdrie, Alta.) scoring for Alberta while Koy Funk (Calgary Hitmen / Portage la Prairie, Man.) and Carson Carels (Prince George Cougars / Cypress River, Man.) responding for Manitoba.
Midway through the second period, it was Aiden Jacobson (Winnipeg, Man.) breaking the 2-2 deadlock and sparking a three-goal outburst for the black and gold.
Carter Haney (Regina Pats / Winnipeg, Man.) made it a 4-2 advantage for Manitoba before the second period came to a close before Carels secured his second goal of the game 3:50 into the third period to pad the Manitoba advantage to 5-2.
Alberta responded with markers from Jordan Duguay (Portland Winterhawks / Edmonton, Alta.) and Sopiarz.
Joudrey finished the day with an impressive four points (1G-3A) for Alberta, while Ty Meunier (Prince Albert Raiders / St. Albert, Alta.) chipped in with three assists.
For Manitoba, Liske provided two helpers in addition to his two shootout strikes. Captain Jaxon Jacobson (Brandon Wheat Kings / Brandon, Man.) also notched two assists, as did Carter Kingerski (Tri-City Americans / Headingley, Man.).
2023 WHL Cup MVP
Carson Carels, Team Manitoba (Prince George Cougars / Cypress River, Man.)
2023 WHL Cup All-Star Team
Goaltender: Peyton Shore, Team Manitoba (Red Deer Rebels / Winnipeg, Man.)
Defence: Carson Carels, Team Manitoba (Prince George Cougars / Cypress River, Man.)
Defence: Brek Liske, Team Manitoba (Everett Silvertips / Beausejour, Man.)
Forward: Dayne Beuker, Team Saskatchewan (Lethbridge Hurricanes / Humboldt, Sask.)
Forward: Markus Ruck, Team B.C. (Medicine Hat Tigers / Osoyoos, B.C.)
Forward: Liam Ruck, Team B.C. (Medicine Hat Tigers / Osoyoos, B.C.)
The 2023 WHL Cup presented by FPS Payment is supported by Tourism Red Deer.
About FPS Payment
FPS Payment is a company specializing in the sale of payment terminals, focusing mainly on the restaurant and retail industry. Thanks to their simple and secure payment solutions, FPS greatly simplifies the lives of businesses and their transactions. Their payment terminals offer exceptional ease of use, allowing merchants to accept payments smoothly and efficiently. Additionally, security is a top priority for FPS, ensuring that their customers’ sensitive financial information is protected. With FPS Payment, businesses can focus on their core business with confidence knowing that their transactions are being processed reliably and securely.
About Tourism Red Deer
Tourism Red Deer serves as the destination development corporation for Red Deer and the region. The primary role of Tourism Red Deer is to be the leading organization for all things tourism, driving the development of Red Deer and the region into a compelling tourism destination animated by attractive experiences, engaged visitors, exciting events, and welcoming hosts. The vision of Tourism Red Deer is to position Red Deer as the top major event destination among mid-sized cities in Canada by 2030. The mission of Tourism Red Deer is to grow the visitor economy in the Red Deer region through impactful tourism marketing, destination development, and the facilitation of tourism attraction and support.