From underdogs to the country’s top team — the Saint John Sea Dogs are the 2022 Memorial Cup champions.
Saint John defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-3 on Wednesday night to clinch the national junior hockey title.
It marks the second time the Sea Dogs have raised the Memorial Cup after first doing so in 2011.
Saint John opened the scoring early in the first with back-to-back goals from Vincent Sévigny and Cam MacDonald within the first six minutes.
Mason MacTavish scored for Hamilton at 7:45 to make it a 2-1 hockey game for the Sea Dogs.
Early in the second, Riley Bezeau and William Dufour scored within 34 seconds of each other to give Saint John a 4-1 lead.
That lead closed slightly with nine seconds to go in the second period when Jan Mysak scored for the Bulldogs to make it 4-2 Sea Dogs.
Josh Lawrence scored on the power play early in the third for Saint John’s fifth goal, giving them a 5-2 lead.
Hamilton’s Mason MacTavish fired back with less than five minutes remaining, which was soon followed by Saint John’s sixth goal, an empty netter by Peter Reynolds with 1:17 remaining.
The Saint John Sea Dogs are Memorial Cup champions!
Final score 6-3 over the Hamilton Bulldogs. pic.twitter.com/tRPtmraHcE
— Brad Perry (he/him) (@BradMPerry) June 30, 2022
“To get a 2-1 lead and then the second period extend it to a 4-2 lead and then get that power play goal, it’s special, special, special,” said Gardiner MacDougall, interim head coach of the Sea Dogs.
MacDougall said the victory was a team effort with everyone having an important role to play in the outcome.
“Our goaltender made key saves at key moments in the game. In a game like this, you get the lead, you learn to protect, and when you get a chance, you extend it. We did all three of those things,” he said.
Key to Saint John’s victory in the national tournament was 20-year-old forward William Dufour.
With seven goals and one assist in four games, Dufour was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
“It’s just amazing,” said Dufour. “We worked so hard the last month and just to finish my career like that as a champion is amazing.”
Trevor Georgie, president and general manager of the Sea Dogs, said he is proud of how the entire team played this season.
“Our whole group here has faced a lot of adversity, a lot. For them to now be Memorial Cup champions, I’m just so proud of them,” said Georgie.
The Sea Dogs lost out on their chance to win the President Cup after being eliminated in the first round of Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs.
Soon after the loss, the team cut ties with coach Gordie Dwyer and brought in MacDougall, the head coach of the University of New Brunswick’s men’s hockey program, on an interim basis to get them through the Memorial Cup.
“Gardiner grabbed me when we came on the ice and said, ‘well that took brass balls.’ I don’t know if it took that, but it was an easy decision in terms of selection,” said Georgie.
“He’s a guy that has won a lot. We want someone with big-game experience and games don’t get bigger than this.”
The Sea Dogs will host a celebration parade starting at noon on Thursday. The parade will start on King Street East and make its way to the AREA 506 Waterfront Container Village.
Award Winners
William Dufour received the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as Most Valuable Player and the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as the Top Scorer. Dufour recorded eight points in four games, including seven goals and one assist.
Logan Morrison of the Hamilton Bulldogs received the George Parsons Trophy as the Most Sportsmanlike Player of the tournament.
Nikolas Hurtubise of the Saint John Sea Dogs received the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy as the Most Outstanding Goaltender of the tournament. Hurtubise recorded three wins through four appearances alongside a .880 save percentage and 3.14 goals-against average.
All-Star Team
Forward – Mavrik Bourque, Shawinigan Cataractres
Forward – William Dufour, Saint John Sea Dogs
Forward – Mason McTavish, Hamilton Bulldogs
Defence – Yan Kuznetsov, Saint John Sea Dogs
Defence – Arber Xhekaj, Hamilton Bulldogs
Goaltender – Nikolas Hurtubise, Saint John Sea Dogs
