BENN’S TWO POINTS HELP RED TAKE INTERSQUAD SERIES WITH 4-2 WIN

Jamie Benn (Victoria, BC/Kelowna, WHL) scored once and added an assist as Team Red earned bragging rights at the National Junior Team development camp with a 4-2 win over Team White in the final intersquad game on Tuesday night in Ottawa.

After a furious end-to-end first period it was Red who found the scoreboard first, as Maxime Sauvé (Boisbriand, QC/Val-d’Or, QMJHL) beat White goaltender Chet Pickard (Winnipeg, MB/Tri-City, WHL) with a backhand along the ice with just over a minute to go in the frame.

Goals from Benn and Cody Hodgson (Markham, ON/Brampton, OHL) gave Red a 3-0 lead before the midway point of the second period, but John Tavares (Oakville, ON/Oshawa, OHL) counted White’s first goal with just 52 seconds left in the middle frame, hoping to spark his team to a comeback much like the one Red almost pulled off one night earlier.

Trailing 4-0 late in the second period on Monday night, Team Red rattled off three consecutive goals to cut the lead to one before succumbing to White by a final of 4-3.

Unfortunately for Team White there was to be no comeback on the ice at the University of Ottawa Sports Complex, as Colton Gillies (Surrey, BC/Saskatoon, WHL) restored the three-goal lead for Team Red just over two minutes into the final period.

A goal from Patrice Cormier (Cap-Pelé, NB/Rimouski, QMJHL) with just 17 seconds to go rounded out the scoring for Team White, who dropped two of the three intersquad games – Team Red won the opener 4-1 on Sunday night.

Jake Allen (New Maryland, NB/St. John’s, QMJHL) and Dustin Tokarski (Watson, SK/Spokane, WHL) split the goaltending duties for the victorious Team Red, turning away 24 of 26 shots, while Pickard and Tyson Sexsmith (Priddis, AB/Vancouver, WHL) stopped 34 of 38 for Team White in a losing cause.

With the development camp wrapped up – players and staff will take part in a 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship golf tournament on Wednesday – the next step comes in early December, when the selection camp roster is released.