Magog wins Telus Cup

Hockey Canada

The Magog Cantonniers are Telus Cup champions.

Saint John Sea Dogs prospect Kyan Labbé made 19 saves to help the Cantonniers defeat the Brandon Wheat Kings (the other Brandon Wheat Kings) 4-1 in Sunday's championship game in Cape Breton.

THE MAGOG CANTONNIERS ARE 2024 TELUS CUP CHAMPIONS 🏆@CantonniersAAA pic.twitter.com/EtbmN7Z1SJ

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 28, 2024

It's the second straight year a Quebec based team won the national under-18 championship following Séminaire St-François Blizzard's win last year. 

Magog previously won the Telus Cup in 2000. They finished second in 2018, 2019 and 2022.

Labbé, who recently committed to play NCAA hockey at Union College, appeared in five games at this year's tournament, posting a 5-0 record to go along with a 1.60 goals against average and a .944 save percentage. Unsurprisingly, he was named the tournament's best goaltender.

The 16-year-old was previously named the Quebec under-18 league's playoff MVP and top defensive player after posting an 11-3-0 record to go along with a 2.26 GAA and .920 SV%. He was also recently named Canadian Elite Hockey League's goaltender of the year.

The biggest concern about Labbé is his size. The Hockey Canada website lists him at 5'8" and 157 lbs.

A few other news and notes...

• In the QMJHL playoffs, the Drummondville Voltigeurs lead the Victorville Tigres 2-0. The Volts won Game 2 by a final score of 5-1 on Saturday. Former Sea Dogs forward Noah Reinhart had a goal in the win.
• Game 3 of the Baie-Comeau/Cape Breton series takes place Monday night in Sydney while the Drummondville/Victoriaville series resumes on Tuesday.
• At the IIHF World Under-18 Championship, Gardiner MacDougall, Travis Crickard and Team Canada secured top spot in Group B with a solid 8-1 win over Switzerland. Caleb Desnoyers of the Moncton Wildcats was inserted onto the top line for this game, replacing the injured Roger McQueen. Canada wraps up preliminary round play on Monday against Kazakstan. 
• The Miramichi Timberwolves have taken a 3-1 series lead in the Maritime Hockey League final following a 4-3 win over the Summerside Western Capitals on Sunday night. The Timberwolves can clinch the MHL title with a victory in Game 5 on Tuesday in Summerside.
• Charlie Coyle and the Boston Bruins are up 3-1 on the Toronto Maple Leafs in their first round playoff series. Game 5 takes place Tuesday night in Boston.
• Dawson Theede and the Halifax Thunderbirds had their season end with a thud on Sunday, falling 9-3 to the Albany FireWolves in a National Lacrosse League single elimination, first round playoff matchup.

Eagles down 2-0 to Drakkar

CHL TV

The Cape Breton Eagles are coming home down 2-0 in their series against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.

The Eagles fell 5-3 in Baie-Comeau on Friday night, blowing 2-0 and 3-2 leads. A late second period goal by the Drakkar that made it 3-3 and an early third period marker that made it 4-3 really turned momentum onto the home team's side.

The captain delivers! Isaac Dufort gives the @DrakkarBAC its first lead of the game! 🚨 #QPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/QnncAnhFY6

— QMJHL (@QMJHL) April 27, 2024

Former Saint John Sea Dogs forward Cole Burbidge opened the scoring for Cape Breton. 

Despite the loss, the Eagles showed they can compete with the top-seeded Drakkar and certainly belong in this series. Obviously, Game 3 at a sold out Centre 200 will be a big one. That game takes place Monday night.

Baie-Comeau won Game 1 on Thursday, 4-0.

In the other QMJHL semifinal playoff series, the Drummondville Voltigeurs defeated the Victoriaville Tigres 2-1 on Friday to take a 1-0 series lead. Former Sea Dogs forward Noah Reinhart had an assist in the win.

A few other news and notes...

• Gardiner MacDougall, Travis Crickard and Team Canada are off to a 2-0 start at the IIHF Under-18 World Championship in Finland following a 6-3 win over Sweden and a 6-0 victory over Czechia. Canada is back in action on Sunday when they play Switzerland.
• Sea Dogs prospect Kyan Labbé and the Magog Cantonniers are now 5-0 at the Telus Cup in Cape Breton. In three starts, Labbé has allowed just four goals on 91 shots. Magog will face the Markham Waxers in Saturday's semifinals. The bronze and gold medal games take place Sunday.
• The Miramichi Timberwolves now lead the Maritime Hockey League final 2-1 following a 4-3 victory over the Summerside Western Capitals on Wednesday. Former Sea Dogs forward Cole Foston had three assists in the win. Game 4 takes place Sunday night in Miramichi. 
• Charlie Coyle and the Boston Bruins are up 2-1 on the Toronto Maple Leafs in their first round series. Game 4 takes place Saturday night in Toronto.
• Former Sea Dogs forward Dawson Theede and the Halifax Thunderbirds have qualified for the National Lacrosse League playoffs. The Thunderbirds visit the Albany FireWolves on Sunday in a first-round, single elimination playoff game.

Memorial Cup hosts moving on in OHL

The 2024 Memorial Cup hosts are still alive.

The Saginaw Spirit secured a spot in the OHL's Western Conference Final with a 3-1 victory over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in Game 7 of their second round series on Tuesday. The win pushes the Spirit into the league's final four where they'll face the top-seeded London Knights.

Saginaw led 1-0 after one but the Soo tied it up in the second period. The Spirit heavily outshot the Greyhounds in the third and finally retook the lead midway through the period before securing the win with an empty netter. Shots were 14-5 in favour of Saginaw in the third and 34-17 overall.

CALEM MANGONE DOES IT AGAIN 🫡

The Soo native makes no mistake from Michael Misa's pass to re-take the lead for the @SpiritHockey in Game 7 📽️#OHLPlayoffs | #SAGvsSOO pic.twitter.com/SN8tmV181g

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 24, 2024

Soo seemed to have all the momentum entering Game 7. The Greyhounds posted a statement 5-0 win in Game 6 on Sunday while the Spirit were missing a couple regulars for Game 7.

The Spirit finished with 102 points in the regular season, just two points back of the Knights. The two split the four-game season series.

Winning and hosting the Memorial Cup has been a difficult task over the past 20 years. The host team has not won a league championship since the Kitchener Rangers in 2008. No host has won a league title and the Memorial Cup since the loaded Knights of 2005.

The OHL's Eastern Conference Final will feature the North Bay Battalion taking on the Oshawa Generals.

The third round of the QMJHL playoffs begin Thursday in Baie-Comeau with the Drakkar hosting the Cape Breton Eagles. The other series begins Friday with the Drummondville Voltigeurs hosting nearby rivals the Victoriaville Tigres.

Over in the WHL, the third round will feature the Moose Jaw Warriors taking on the Saskatoon Blades in the east and the Prince George Cougars facing the Portland Winterhawks in the west.

A few other news and notes...

• At the Telus Cup in Sydney, Sea Dogs prospect Kyan Labbé and the Magog Cantonniers are off to a 2-0 start. Labbé, who recently committed to the NCAA's Union College, made 26 saves in Magog's 5-1 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings on Monday and followed that up with 27 saves in a 6-1 win over the Markham Waxers on Tuesday.
• Former Sea Dogs forward Cole Foston had a goal in the Miramichi Timberwolves' 5-1 victory over the Summerside Western Capitals on Monday, evening the Maritime Hockey League final at 1-1.
• Charlie Coyle is the lone former Sea Dog playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs this year. Coyle has been held pointless through two games as his Boston Bruins are tied 1-1 in their first round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
• Team Canada begins the IIHF Under-18 World Championship on Thursday when they take on Sweden. Canada's head coach is Gardiner MacDougall while Travis Crickard is an assistant. Canada has played two pre-tournament games, beating Finland 5-1 on Saturday and Norway 4-3 on Tuesday.

Report: Labbé commits to NCAA

QM18AAA

The Saint John Sea Dogs have lost a goaltending prospect to the NCAA.

The Sherbrooke newspaper La Tribune reported Thursday that netminder Kyan Labbé has committed to play at Union College, a Division I program in New York. The 16-year-old was a fourth-round pick of Saint John in last year's QMJHL Entry Draft but left the team's training camp after 48 hours to maintain his college hockey eligibility.

Labbé has had an impressive season with the Magog Cantonniers, helping the team win the under-18 Quebec title. He went 17-6-0 in 25 regular season games to go along with a 1.98 goals against average and a .934 save percentage.

Labbé was named the league's playoff MVP and top defensive player after posting an 11-3-0 record to go along with a 2.26 GAA and .920 SV%. He was recently named Canadian Elite Hockey League's goaltender of the year.

The 2023-2024 CEHL U18 Goaltender of the Year is Kyan Labbe of the @CantonniersAAA !

The 2007 born net-minder recorded 33 wins in 42 games, including 5 shutouts. Throughout the 42 games in net, Kyan recorded an impressive 1.99 Goals Against Average and a .934 Save Percentage. pic.twitter.com/lEb7FcOgud

— CEHL_u18 (@CEHL_u18) April 17, 2024

The Cantonniers will be taking part in the Telus Cup tournament, which begins next week in Cape Breton.

The biggest concern about Labbé has been his size – although Elite Prospects now lists him at 5'11". He was listed at 5'7" when the Sea Dogs drafted him last year.

Union College, based near Albany, NY, plays in the ECAC conference, which is home to the Ivy League schools. Union won a national championship in 2014 but have struggled in recent years.

The Sea Dogs likely have a No. 1 goaltender heading into next season in Justin Robinson but who his backup will be is certainly a question mark. It looks Labbé's name can be crossed off the list of candidates.

Notebook: Over and out in Mississauga

The building where the Saint John Sea Dogs lifted the Memorial Cup for the first time hosted its final CHL game last Friday.

The Mississauga Steelheads fell 6-2 to the Sudbury Wolves in Game 5 of their first round playoff series, officially ending the team's run in Mississauga. The Steelheads will literally move down the road to Brampton for the 2024-25 season.

The Sea Dogs won the 2011 Memorial Cup at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre (then the Hershey Centre) when they defeated the host Mississauga St. Michael's Majors in the championship game.

It's certainly possible that the OHL will return to Mississauga one day — but it probably won't be quite awhile given how rough attendance has been during the Steelheads and Majors tenures.

IMAMA MAKES SENS DEBUT

Former Sea Dogs forward Boko Imama made his Ottawa Senators debut last Saturday.

Imama dropped the gloves with New Jersey's Kurtis MacDermid in the first period.

Welcome to the Ottawa Senators, Boko Imama. 👊 pic.twitter.com/tEQhPXmqWm

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 6, 2024

Imama was one of three former Sea Dogs playing for Ottawa in the game, joining Mathieu Joseph and Thomas Chabot.

The 27-year-old has spent most of this season withe AHL's Belleville Senators where he has three goals and seven assists in 53 games.

Notebook: The Telus Cup Is Coming

Via John Moore, here’s Luke Green getting selected first overall by Jonathan Huberdeau and the Sea Dogs.

TELUS CUP

If you haven’t heard, the Saint John Vito’s will host the 2016 Telus Cup at the qplex. Hockey Canada made the announcement last weekend.

The national major midget hockey championship will take place from April 18-24 in 2016. The tournament could feature plenty of future NHLers along with prospects for the 2016 QMJHL Entry Draft.

Along with the Telus Cup, the Saint John area could be hosting the Memorial Cup in 2017. Good times ahead.

THE AMERICANS

SB Nation’s college hockey blog offered some analysis on each American taken in last weekend’s QMJHL Entry Draft. The Dogs picked two Americans – forwards Monte Graham and Lincoln Griffin from Thayer Academy.

“The Hanover, Mass. native has very good vision on the ice and could be a terrific playmaker as his career progresses,” writes Jeff Cox about Graham.

“The Northeastern recruit out of Walpole, Mass. possesses great setup skills and can be an impact offensive player,” Cox notes about Griffin.

The Chronicle Herald's Willy Palov notes in his latest column that Graham and Charlie Coyle are cousins. "That connection should assure Graham’s presence in Saint John in August, and it wouldn’t even surprise me to see his Thayer Academy teammate, Lincoln Griffin, the Sea Dogs’ 14th-rounder, join him," writes Palov.

MHL

Only three Maritime Junior ‘A’ Hockey League players were selected in last weekend’s QMJHL Entry Draft. Two of them were picked by the Sea Dogs.

Valley Wildcats netminder Blade Mann-Dixon was selected in the 11^th round by the Sea Dogs while Campbellton Tigers forward Francis Theriault was taken in the 13^th round. The other MHL player picked was Woodstock Slammers forward Peter Woulds who was taken in the 11^th round by the Gatineau Olympiques.

TESSIER

The Shawinigan newspaper Le Nouvelliste has an article on the Sea Dogs picking Julien Tessier in the first round. He is compared to former Shawinigan Cataractes forward and current Montreal Canadien Michael Bournival.

Tessier had seven goals and 21 points in 38 regular season games this past season with the Trois-Rivieres Estacades of the Quebec Midget AAA League. He added four goals and nine points in five playoff games.