By Craig Beauchemin

Unity native looks back on RBC Cup opportunity

Jun 1, 2016 | 12:27 PM

Hockey players are trained to be at their best, not nervous, when eyes are on them. For Unity native Alex Pernitsky, the nerves were admittedly tough to shake during the RBC Cup final, the national Junior A championship, which was broadcast on live television across the country.

“I remember turning and going to pass the puck to my centre and I just completely missed on the pass,” Pernitsky said. “I thought to myself ‘OK, there’s my screw up for the game. I’ll get my nerves together and be better.’”

Pernitsky was a key member of the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Lloydminster Bobcats defence core during the 2015-16 season, scoring six times with 22 assists in 50 regular season games before adding nine points in 12 playoff games. The Bobcats were eliminated in the semi-finals of the AJHL playoffs, but by virtue of hosting the RBC Cup were granted an automatic berth into the five-team tournament.

Pernitsky was also a member of the Battlefords AAA Stars for one full season in 2013-14, amassing seven goals and 18 assists in 35 games. In 2012-13 he suited up for three games with the Battlefords North Stars.

The 2016 edition of the RBC Cup featured the Bobcats, Brooks Bandits of the AJHL, Carleton Place Canadians from Ontario, West Kelowna Warriors from British Columbia and the Trenton Golden Hawks, also from Ontario. After stumbling through the round robin portion with just one win in four games, the Bobcats found their form in the semi-final against Trenton, winning 6-2 to advance to the final.

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“Every single game we ended up with more shots than the other team,” Pernitsky said. “Even in the final we had more shots. After that game there’s no way anyone could say we didn’t deserve to be in the final.”

The Bobcats peppered West Kelowna goaltender Matthew Greenfield in the May 22 final throwing 48 pucks his way, but the Florida native stood tall stopping each one of them as the Warriors silenced the boisterous Lloydminster crowd with a 4-0 win.

Pernitsky said he felt his team didn’t generate enough quality opportunities on Greenfield with too many shots from the outside. He admitted it was tough not to let Greenfield’s performance get in their heads as the clock, and scoreboard, began to work against them.

“We have incredible fans. They supported us more and more as the week went on,” Pernitsky said. “Every time we scored or made a good play they were in a roar. The relationships I’ve built and the friends I’ve made in the last two years are the things I’ll remember most about my time in Lloydminster.”

Pernitsky’s junior career ended with a loss in his final game as the 19-year-old is heading to Colorado College in the fall. He may be thousands of kilometres from Unity when he heads to Colorado Springs, but he may feel right at home as two of his Bobcats teammates, defenceman Cole Josefchak and goaltender Alex Leclerc, will be joining him with the Tigers.

He won’t be able to forget the RBC Cup final for at least the next four years, as West Kelowna defenceman Kristian Blumenschein is also slated to attend Colorado College this upcoming year.

Email: cjnbsports@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @craig_beauch