Halifax wins Memorial Cup
SASKATOON — Seth Jones got the better of Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin at the world junior championship and the Top Prospects Game.
But the two Halifax Mooseheads stars turned the tables on their fellow top NHL drafteligible peer in a big way Sunday night during the MasterCard Memorial Cup final.
MacKinnon and Drouin — ranked second and third for the NHL draft next month — were the offensive catalysts as the Mooseheads downed top prospect Jones and his Portland Winterhawks 6-4 in front of 11,488 spectators at Credit Union Centre.
Drouin assisted on each of Halifax’s first five goals, while MacKinnon helped the Mooseheads grab a stranglehold on the game with two goals and an assist in the third period.
MacKinnon had a five-point night — and finished the tournament with 13 points — as the Mooseheads won their first Memorial Cup in franchise history.
“For him to get the MVP this time around and dominate the tournament like he did, I’m really happy for him,” said Mooseheads winger Stephen MacAulay, who captured his second Canadian major junior championship in his third try. “I’m sure he definitely helped himself in the draft.”
Led by MacKinnon and Drouin, the Mooseheads’ potent offence, which had 18 goals in three round-robin games, caught fire early.
“They like playing in big games,” said Mooseheads head coach Dominique Ducharme, of his two young phenoms. “Those guys like facing big teams and big moments and big challenges. They just showed that they’re big-time players.”
The No. 1-ranked Mooseheads appeared to be on their way to another one-sided victory over the Winterhawks. Halifax defeated Portland 7-4 in each team’s first game of the tournament.
But the Winterhawks, the CHL’s second-ranked team, weren’t about to roll over and got goals from sniper Ty Rattie and Jones to make it 3-2.
However, it was the Mooseheads that claimed victory, earning the third-straight Memorial Cup title for the QMJHL.