HOST SEA DOGS WIN BIG TO CAPTURE MEMORIAL CUP
Saint John lost in first round of playoffs, then changed coaches en route to victory
JOHN, N.B. After a twoyear hiatus, the Canadian Hockey League crowned a champion again, as the host Saint John Sea Dogs won the 2022 Memorial Cup.
The Sea Dogs defeated the
OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs 6-3 in front of a soldout crowd of more than 6,000 at Harbour Station on Wednesday.
Vincent Sevigny, Cam MacDonald, Riley Bezeau, William Dufour, Josh Lawrence and
Peter Reynolds scored for the
Sea Dogs, who were eliminated in the first round of the QMJHL playoffs and had nearly 40 days to prepare for the tournament. Goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise made 25 saves.
Mason Mctavish, with two goals, and Jan Mysak scored for Hamilton, while Marco Costantini made 21 saves.
Saint John fired head coach Gordie Dwyer after losing to the Rimouski Oceanic in a bestof-five first-round series and replaced him with legendary University of New Brunswick coach Gardiner Macdougall, who now has a Memorial Cup title to go on his resume along with seven university national championships in 22 years with UNB.
Saint John earned a bye into the final after finishing first in the four-team round robin. Hamilton defeated the Shawinigan Cataractes 4-3 in overtime on Monday in the semifinal to provide the opposition for the hosts. The game was the 92nd of the season for Hamilton.
Sevigny opened the scoring on the Sea Dogs’ first shot, 2:35 into the game. The Sea Dogs captain drifted a shot from the point, which hit the stick of Bulldogs defenceman Arber Xhekaj and bounced in past Costantini.
Macdonald put the hosts up 2-0 a little more than three minutes later, when he took a pass in the slot and ripped a shot past Costantini.
Mctavish pulled one back before the end of the period, tipping in a shot from Nathan Staios in through the pads of Hurtubise.
Bezeau, however, put the Sea Dogs up 3-1 almost five minutes into the second period. He picked the top corner with a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle.
Dufour made it 4-1 half a minute later, taking a feed from Ryan Francis from behind the net and one-timing a shot in past Costantini.
Francis carried the puck into the Bulldogs zone on an individual rush, then circled the net before finding Dufour.
Sea Dogs defenceman Yan Kuznetsov should have increased the lead to four goals later in the period, when he was first to a loose puck in the crease with Costantini down and out. Kuznetsov, however, fired the puck high over the wide-open net.
The miss opened the door for the Bulldogs, who scored with nine seconds left in the period, to cut the deficit to 4-2.
After a couple of close chances in front, the puck came back to Gavin White at the point and his shot through a maze of bodies in front eventually hit Mysak at the side of the net and bounced in past Hurtubise.
In the third, Hurtubise made a pair of excellent saves to maintain the two-goal lead. The Sea Dogs were then given a power play after an innocent looking scrum drew coincidental penalties and Xhekaj was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct minor from the bench for saying something in the direction of the referees.
Lawrence went on to score on the power play, taking a pass from Dufour from in behind the net and snapping a shot over the shoulder of Costantini, going bar down.
Mctavish cut the lead to 5-3 with his second goal of the game and his sixth of the tournament. His goal came with five minutes to go in the third period, giving Hamilton some hope.
The Bulldogs pulled Costantini to try to cut into the deficit further, but Reynolds scored into the empty net with 1:17 left to ice the contest.
It’s the second time the Sea Dogs have won the Memorial Cup. They won the tournament as QMJHL champions in 2011 in Mississauga, Ont., led by Florida Panthers star Jonathan Huberdeau.
The 2023 Memorial Cup will be hosted by the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL.