Giants defeat Medicine Hat 3-1 to win Memorial Cup

Michal Repik was a passenger in last year's Vancouver Giants run to the Memorial Cup tournament.

This year, he was one of the guys driving.

Repik wrapped up his remarkable sophomore playoff Sunday afternoon, bagging the winner in a 3-1 triumph over the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Memorial Cup finale.

The game was played before a standing-room crowd of 16,281 at the Pacific Coliseum, the largest crowd to ever watch a junior game in Vancouver.

The tournament attendance ended up at 121,461, the largest ever for the event.

Medicine Hat had beaten Vancouver in double overtime of the seventh and deciding game of the WHL final, and then beat them 1-0 Wednesday in the last game of the Memorial Cup round-robin.

Vancouver whipped the crowd into a frenzy when they went up 2-1 with 4:55 remaining. Repik's wraparound snuck between the pads of Medicine Hat goalie Matt Keetley. Spencer Machacek scored into an empty net with 46.3 seconds remaining.

The Tigers had a power play with 8:34 left when J.D. Watt was whistled for a sloppy hooking penalty deep in Medicine Hat territory, but the Tigers couldn't even muster a shot on goal.

The first 12 minutes of the third period were cautious. Vancouver had the best two opportunities, but Keetley stoned Wacey Rabbit both times. He was alert on a Rabbit backhander from in tight at 17:09, and he came out to cut down the angle and forced Rabbit to hammer it wide on a rush down the left wing at 11:05.

Repik was stymied on his second golden chance of the second with 3:08 left when he couldn't beat Keetley down low after being left all alone in front on a power play.

The Tigers tied it up on a power play with 4:11 left in the second, Darren Helm wristing

The Giants just missed stretching the lead to 2-0 when Repik whiffed on a puck with Keetley out of position with 5:50 to go in the middle frame.

Vancouver had a glorious opportunity to go up 2-0 again at 7:59 of the second, but Keetley calmly turned away Cody Franson's slapper from the slot on a 3-on-1.

The Giants got on the scoreboard 6:07 of the middle stanza. Mario Bliznak whacked one home from right in front after Keetley turned away Kenndal McArdle's wraparound and the subsquent rebound try by A.J. Thelen.

Medicine Hat pushed early in the second, and Giants goalie Tyson Sexsmith got some help from his teammates. J.D. Watt cleared a rebound sitting in harm's way 1:05 in, while Jon Blum got his stick on a Daine Todd chance at 1:33.

Medicine Hat's best chance of the first came with 4:33 left, when Jerrid Sauer darted out from behind the net and was thwarted by an alert Sexsmith.

Keetley flashed a quick glove on a Repik try at the 10:26 mark.

Vancouver had the first legitimate scoring chance. Mario Bliznak kept on a 2-on-1 and Keetley got a glove on it at the 5:38 mark.

The building had unparrelled energy early, and Vancouver's Milan Lucic added to it when he dished out three monster hits on one shift. He was then challenged by Medicine Hat defenceman Jordan Bendfeld and Lucic decisioned him in a fight.

The Giants went with the same lineup that beat the Plymouth Whalers 8-1 in the semifinals on Friday, meaning that veteran Tim Kraus remained a scratch. The official word out of the Giants was that he was battling nagging injuries. Kraus, a four-year veteran who was Vancouver's second-leading scorer during the regular season, had fallen into Hay's doghouse again. He was benched for the third period and overtime of the tournament opening 4-3 win over Plymouth.