Rebels Win OHL Showcase Cup

The Hershey Center in Mississauga had its own March Cinderella story this past weekend. The Mississauga Rebels (unseeded) defeated the Toronto Marlboros (3) 2-1 in the finals of the 2010 OHL Cup Showcase Tournament. Showcase MVP Sean Monahan netted his tournament leading seventh goal at 10:16 of the third period. The highlight reel goal went top corner, over Marlboro net minder Jake Paterson’s glove, proving to be the game winner.

Rebels Bantam call-up and Championship player of the game goaltender Robert Adamo stopped 25 of 26 shots to help hold off the offensive power of the Marlboro’s (tournament leading 22 goals in 7 games).  Originally brought up as a back-up to Ty Zastre; Adamo saw his first action during the second game of round robin play when Zastre suffered an injury which forced him to miss the rest of the tournament.  Adamo went six games with a 5-1 record posting a GAA of 2.22.

Through adversity and perseverance, the Mississauga Rebels battled through seven hard fought games of hockey versus some of the best minor midget teams from North America ranked by the OHL.  Going 2-1-1 over the round robin, the Rebels earned their birth into the quarter-finals where they faced the top seeded Toronto Young Nationals, defeating them in a thrilling overtime victory winning 2-1 courtesy of Brett Gustavsen at 3:14.  Their success continued into the Semi-finals.  With the help of a five point performance (3 G, 2A) from Sean Monahan, the Rebels defeated the TPH Thunder (Huntsville, Alabama) 5-3.

The Rebels become the first wild card team to win the OHL Cup in tournament history.  After being swept in the quarter finals of the GTHL playoffs by the Mississauga Reps, head coach Adrian Lomonaco knew that his team had something to prove, “We talked about never being satisfied with just being here, they did an amazing job and played with a lot of heart and with a lot of courage.”

For OpenIceHockey.com, I’m Sean Kelly