JR. KNIGHTS BEAT GIANTS AGAIN, ADVANCE TO GOLD MEDAL GAME

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Adam Rzeszutko scored 3:34 into overtime to send the London Jr. Knights to Sunday’s gold medal game at the 2011 TELUS Cup thanks to a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver North West Giants onSaturday night.

The win was London’s second in as many days over Vancouver, which was undefeated before encountering theJr. Knights. London needed Friday’s victory to squeeze into the semifinals as the No. 4 team, and became the first one-win team to beat the top-ranked team in the semifinals in the tournament’s 33-year history.

The Jr. Knights will face Winnipeg in Sunday’s gold medal game (4 p.m. NT), while the Giants will play LacSt-Louis for bronze (10 a.m. NT).

London carried the momentum from Friday’s win into the early stages of Saturday’s showdown, taking a 2-0lead after the first period on goals from Stuart King and captain Wyatt Coghill. King and Coghill each also added an assist in the opening frame.

Vancouver got on the board when Jackson Houck snapped a shot past tournament Top Goaltender Craig Wood five minutes into the second period, and TELUS Cup MVP Alex Kerfoot evened the game at 2-2 at 14:11, going top shelf on Wood for his eighth goal of the tournament.

London regained the lead when Rzeszutko set up Nicholas Erb for his first of the tournament early in the third period, but the Giants’ deadly power play converted for the 15th time, this time off the stick of Houck, who tipped home a cross-crease pass from Kerfoot, to tie the game and force the extra period.

Unlike Saturday’s early semifinal between Winnipeg and Lac St-Louis, which required a second overtime, Rzeszutko finished the game for London early, his shot beating Vancouver net minder Daniel Cotton on the short side to put the Central Region champions in the gold medal game in their first-ever appearance at the national championship.