Jacob Walker delivered the decisive goal as the Rogers Royals edged Champlin Park 4-3 for the Bronze Division championship of the Schwan Cup on Saturday at Ridder Arena.
Walker notched two goals and Matt Hellickson and Nate Weber one each as the Royals (9-2-1) beat the Rebels (4-6) for the second time this year, both 4-3.
“It’s a very nice win, a tournament title, and a big win in our section, too,” said Royals coach Justin Strunk.
“I have to give a lot of credit to our special teams. We were 2-for-2 on the power play and 4-for-4 on penalty kill. Our penalty kill is 98 percent for the year.”
The Royals beat Orono 5-3, Anoka 3-2 and Champlin Park to win the Bronze title. The Schwan Cup, the state’s biggest regular-season tournament, also has Gold and Silver divisions.
Hellickson and Weber notched the power play goals, the latter of which gave Rogers its first lead 3-2 at 11:35 of the third period.
Jacob Aberwalt pulled the Rebels back into a tie just 20 seconds later. But at 15:12, Jacobs found a small opening in front of the net after receiving a pass from Weber down low and quickly deposited the puck in the net for a 4-3 lead.
Bryce Plunkett and Danny Eggerichs had the earlier goals for Champlin Park with Aberwalt assisting on both. Strunk said the Royals gave special defensive attention to Plunkett, who had all three goals when the Rebels lost their season opener to Rogers.
Rogers goalie Jackson Nelson stopped 33 of 36 shots and Champlin’s John Brey was 23-for-27.
Weber and Spencer Marchand made two assists each, and Travis Brown, Alex Lorman and Hellickson one each.
The Royals will host Maple Grove on Saturday, Jan. 4.
