Oakville was eliminated from the Royal Bank Cup national junior A hockey championships with a 6-1 loss to the Camrose Kodiaks. The Blades, needing a victory over the top-ranked junior A team in Canada in order to advance to the tournament's playoff round, surrendered four consecutive second-period goals in the loss – three of them coming while Camrose was shorthanded.

Nick McParland had the lone goal for Oakville, the first marker of the tournament for the Blades' regular-season and playoff leading scorer.

Oakville finished the Royal Bank Cup with a 1-3 record.

Camrose, the Humboldt Broncos, Weeks Crushers and Cornwall Colts move on to Saturday's semifinal round. The championship game will be contested Sunday at 1 p.m.

"It's a little disappointing. We played all the teams, and deep down we feel we were the best," McParland said. "We allowed a few games to slip away. Everybody says to be happy and that only five teams in the nation make it (to the Royal Bank Cup), but I don't really feel that way. I feel we were the best."

Blades captain Chris Corbeil added, "It wasn't the best tournament for us, there's no question about that. But when you reflect on the season as a whole, it was a really successful season. When you're playing into May, you have to give yourself some credit."

See Saturday's edition of The Oakville Beaver for more on the game, the tournament and the Blades' reaction to their season being ended.