Sea Dogs defeat Bulldogs to capture 2nd Memorial Cup in franchise's 17-year history
CBC
The Saint John Sea Dogs turned a devastating playoff loss into a Memorial Cup championship, thanks to renewed focus, 40 days of sweat and a university coach who pushed all the right buttons.
Considered a long shot at the beginning of the Canadian Hockey League championship due to a first-round loss in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs, the Memorial Cup host Sea Dogs downed the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-3 in Wednesday's final.
Saint John scored twice in the first six minutes of both the first and second periods and rode the emotion of a sellout crowd to win the championship for the second time in its 17-year history.
"It was just a complete team effort," said MacDougall. "The players are most important. They really bought in and they were all so receptive. This is as hard as I have ever worked a team."
Cam MacDonald had a goal and an assist for the champions, while Josh Lawrence, Peter Reynolds and William Dufour — the tournament's most valuable player — had one of each. Captain Vincent Sevigny rounded out the scoring for Saint John.
"It makes it more special because everyone thought we were the underdogs, not the Sea Dogs," said Scott McCain, who's owned the team since 2005. "You know what? We proved we deserved to be here. We were the best team in the round robin and we won this game decisively today."
Anaheim Ducks prospect Mason McTavish, with two goals, and Jan Mysak answered for the Bulldogs, who advanced to the final with a 4-3 overtime over Shawinigan in Monday's semifinal.
WATCH | Sea Dogs muzzle Bulldogs to capture Memorial Cup:
Saint John goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise, acquired by the Sea Dogs at the QMJHL trade deadline, posted his third victory of the tournament with 25 saves.
"We have worked so hard and I am so, so proud," said Hurtubise. "We knew that we worked too hard in the past month to not win it. We earned it."
Hamilton's Marco Costantini stopped 21 of 26 shots in the loss.
The Sea Dogs also won the Memorial Cup in 2011. Their win on Wednesday marks the sixth time a QMJHL team has won the Memorial Cup in the last 10 tournaments.
The 2020 and 2021 Memorial Cup events were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hamilton was making its second Memorial Cup appearance after advancing to the 2018 semifinals where they fell to the Regina Pats.
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