(Saint-Jean) During morning practice before the first game of the tournament, coach Gardiner MacDougall had pointed to the heights of the TD Station, pointing out to the players of the Saint-Jean Sea Dogs that there was a space for a second Memorial Cup championship banner.
Posted at 9:00 p.m.
Updated at 10:41 p.m.
This space will be filled in a ceremony before the first game of the next season.
Riley Bezeau and William Dufour scored within 34 seconds in the second period and the Sea Dogs defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-3 on Wednesday in the Memorial Cup final.
The Sea Dogs ended the regular season on a 15-game winning streak. They then suffered a surprise elimination against the Rimouski Oceanic.
MacDougall, head of the men’s hockey program at the University of New Brunswick, was called in to relieve Gordie Dwyer behind the bench.
With new energy, the Sea Dogs, host team also champion of the tournament in 2011, regained their composure of the beautiful days. They helped the QMJHL win a third straight Memorial Cup title, and the 14e of the circuit’s history.
“He’s got a winning mentality,” Dufour said of MacDougall. He won seven championships at UNB. He won everywhere he went. »
MacDougall instead paid tribute to everyone in the organization, especially its players.
“Any coach will say he is better when he has excellent players. Tonight there were a lot of great players in our camp,” he said.
“I think (Dufour) was the best player on the ice tonight. Our goalkeeper was exceptional. Our defense played as a unit. All forwards contributed,” added MacDougall.
Cam MacDonald had a goal and two assists, Josh Lawrence and Peter Reynolds each had a goal and an assist, while Vincent Sévigny also scored for the Sea Dogs. William Villeneuve and Ryan Francis each had two assists and Nikolas Hurtubise made 25 saves.
“I’m proud of the group, which worked hard to come back from this disappointment in the playoffs,” said Hurtubise, the tournament’s goaltender par excellence. We came back to work and we are the best in the country! »
Dufour finished the event with seven goals, one shy of the tournament record, and one assist in four games. He was named tournament MVP.
“Great hockey players are going to shine in big moments. Dufour is a great hockey player,” Hurtubise said of the New York Islanders prospect.
Mason McTavish scored twice, while Jan Mysak also scored for the Bulldogs, who were chasing a first Memorial Cup title after triumphing in the OHL. Nathan Staios and Gavin White each had two assists and Marco Costantini stopped 21 shots.
Head coach Jay McKee said six of his 18 skaters were playing through major injuries, including Mysak and Staios, who suffered from a broken shoulder.
“Despite that, the guys gave it their all,” McKee said. In our eyes, they are the champions of champions since they beat the Western and QMJHL champions. We won a championship, but lost a tournament. »
The wind in the sails
Sévigny opened the scoring on the first shot on goal of the game, 2:35 into the game. His slap shot deflected off the stick of Arber Xhekaj, a Montreal Canadiens prospect, before moving the strings.
MacDonald then doubled the Sea Dogs lead to 5:47 on the team’s third shot on goal. He surprised Costantini on the side of the shield.
McTavish restarted the Bulldogs at 7:45, deflecting a Staios shot into the goal.
We had to wait after 4: 41 of play in the second period for the next fireworks. Bezeau made it 3-1 in favor of the Sea Dogs with a perfect shot up the top.
Dufour returned to the charge 34 seconds later. The Sea Dogs star scored his seventh goal of the tournament after a perfect set-up by Francis.
The Bulldogs increased the pressure late in the second period and cut the deficit to 4-2 with nine seconds remaining. Mysak, the other Canadian hope to play for the Bulldogs, had a chance when a long shot from White deflected against him before ending up in the goal.
Indiscipline, however, came to haunt the Bulldogs in the third period.
After some spectacular saves by Hurtubise at the expense of Xhekaj and Avery Hayes, Xhekaj and Ryan Humphries were punished for unsportsmanlike conduct. Lawrence scored on the power play at 6:32, making it 5-2.
“The hardest thing for me is seeing one of our players being punished for squirting his water bottle in the Memorial Cup final when we saw this type of gesture on all the benches in all games without repercussions,” said McKee said, visibly coming to Xhekaj’s defense. When they then scored, it sawed my legs. »
McTavish gave the Bulldogs one last boost with 4:57 to go when his long shot stunned Hurtubise. The goal was awarded after a video review.
Reynolds delivered the knockout blow by scoring in an empty net with 1:17 on the clock.