2012 Royal Bank Cup

The 2012 Royal Bank Cup was the Junior "A" 2012 ice hockey National Championship for the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The 2012 Royal Bank Cup marked the 42nd consecutive year a national championship has been awarded to this skill level since the breakaway of Major Junior hockey in 1970.

The Royal Bank Cup was competed for by the winners of the Doyle Cup, Anavet Cup, Dudley Hewitt Cup, the Fred Page Cup and the host team, the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

The tournament was hosted by the Humboldt Broncos which will see the round robin begin on May 5, 2012 and have the final played on May 13, 2012. Tournament games was played at the Elgar Peterson Arena in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. Like every other year of the RBC round robin, it consisted of 5 teams in 2012.

Format
Since the Humboldt Broncos were the 2012 SJHL regular season champions and playoff champions, the Broncos would still move on to compete for the 2012 Anavet Cup. The Broncos would turn out to be successful in the best of 7 2012 Anavet Cup series, defeating the 2012 MJHL playoff champion the Portage Terriers 4-3. Since the Humboldt Broncos are hosting the 2012 RBC, the Portage Terriers would still receive a ticket to the tournament because every year during the RBC tournament the host teams automatically play even if they missed or lost out of the playoffs early.

The Penticton Vees of the BCHL entered the tournament as BCHL and Doyle Cup champions, with a BCHL record 42-game winning streak under their belt from earlier in the year. While breaking the BCHL record, the Vees rivaled but did not surpass the nationwide Junior A records of the 1999-2000 Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (49 games, NOJHL), 1989-90 Sudbury Cubs (48 games, NOJHL), or 1981-82 Flin Flon Bombers (46 games, NJHL).

Final
The Penticton Vees would win their second ever National Junior A Championship with a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Maritime Junior A Hockey League's Woodstock Slammers. The Vees led 2-0, but the Slammers stormed back to take a 3-2 lead past the halfway point of the third. Soon after, the Vees scored to tie it in a game that seemed destined for overtime. In the final eight and a half minutes of play, the referees called three consecutive penalties against the Slammers inwhich the Vees scored in the final minute of the final power play with 51 seconds remaining in the game to clinch the Royal Bank Cup. During the regular season, the Vees and Slammers were both nationally ranked #1 teams for most of the season, setting up a very evenly matched final.

Teams

 * Humboldt Broncos (Host)
 * Regular Season: 42-11-2-3 (1st Overall)
 * Playoffs: Defeated La Ronge 4-0, Defeated Battlefords 4-2, Defeated Weyburn 4-2 (SJHL Champions), Defeated Portage 4-3 (Won Anavet Cup).


 * Portage Terriers (West)
 * Regular Season: 42-15-0-5 (1st Overall)
 * Playoffs: Defeated Selkirk 4-0, Defeated Winnipeg Blues 4-2, Defeated Winnipeg Saints 4-1 (MJHL Champions), Lost to Humboldt 3-4.


 * Soo Thunderbirds (Central)
 * Regular Season: 37-11-0-2 (1st Overall)
 * Playoffs: Won round robin (3-0-1), Defeated Soo Eagles 4-0, Defeated North Bay 4-1 (NOJHL Champions), Won Dudley Hewitt Cup (4-1).


 * Penticton Vees (Pacific)
 * Regular Season: 54-4-0-2 (1st Overall)
 * Playoffs: Defeated Chilliwack 4-2, Defeated Merritt 4-1, Defeated Powell River 4-0 (BCHL Champions), Defeated Brooks 4-1 (Won Doyle Cup).


 * Woodstock Slammers (East)
 * Regular Season: 45-6-0-1 (1st Overall)
 * Playoffs: Defeated Campbellton 4-0, Defeated Summerside 4-0, Defeated Yarmouth 4-3 (MHL Champions), Won Fred Page Cup (4-0).

Round Robin
(x-) denotes Semi-final birth. (p-) denotes Elimination of Semi-final.

Results
All games at the Elgar Peterson Arena in Humboldt, SK.

Awards

 * Roland Mercier Trophy (Tournament MVP): John Kleinhans (Soo Thunderbirds)
 * Top Forward: Andrew Johnston (Humboldt Broncos)
 * Top Defencemen: Troy Stecher (Penticton Vees)
 * Top Goaltender: John Kleinhans (Soo Thunderbirds)
 * Tubby Smaltz Trophy (Sportsmanship): Micky Sartoretto (Soo Thunderbirds)

The RBC Cup Legacy Scholarship winners are:
 * Humboldt Broncos – Ryan Marshall
 * Penticton Vees – Kyle Beaulieu
 * Portage Terriers – Cody Kostecki
 * Soo Thunderbirds – Kris Barclay
 * Woodstock Slammers – Tim Campbell

Role of League Champions

 * AJHL: Brooks Bandits
 * BCHL: Penticton Vees
 * CCHL: Nepean Raiders
 * MJAHL: Woodstock Slammers
 * MJHL: Portage Terriers
 * NOJHL: Soo Thunderbirds
 * OJHL: Stouffville Spirit
 * QJAAAHL: Princeville Titans
 * SJHL: Humboldt Broncos
 * SIJHL: Wisconsin Wilderness