Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are 2019 Memorial Cup Presented by Kia Champions
The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are Memorial Cup Presented by Kia champions for the first time in franchise history, demonstrating true resilience in overcoming a 2-0 deficit to defeat the host Halifax Mooseheads 4-2 before a crowd of 10,595.
Félix Bibeau, Joël Teasdale, Peter Abbandonato and Vincent Marleau found the back of the net for the Huskies as Rouyn-Noranda scored four unanswered, outshooting Halifax 35-25.
The Mooseheads ended an eventful first period with a jolt of momentum as Samuel Asselin recorded his third of the tournament on a rebound in tight. The eighth goal of Asselin’s Memorial Cup career sent Halifax flying into the second period where Raphaël Lavoie extended the lead to two.
The @HuskiesRn have won it!@QMJHL champions come back to win 4-2 and celebrate their first #MemorialCup Presented by @KiaCanada title ? pic.twitter.com/cH3Gz8Ai0l
— CanadianHockeyLeague (@CHLHockey) May 27, 2019
The big draft-eligible Lavoie struck on a breakaway 5:26 into the second as teammate Benoit-Olivier Groulx came out of the penalty box and forced a Rouyn-Noranda turnover at centre ice. Lavoie beat Samuel Harvey on the forehand through the five-hole as Halifax was in full control.
Rouyn-Noranda began the march back to victory on a four-on-four five minutes later as Bibeau recorded his fifth of the tournament at 10:27. The Huskies won an offensive one draw before captain Rafaël Harvey-Pinard lugged the puck into the slot where Bibeau chipped a shot over the shoulder of Alexis Gravel.
Montreal Canadiens prospect Joël Teasdale scored the equalizer five minutes later at 15:11, teaming up with tenacious forechecker Tyler Hinam who won a board battle to allow Teasdale to beat Gravel on a quick wraparound.
The two sides were knotted at two after two as Rouyn-Noranda wrestled away the momentum, outshooting Halifax 14-6 in the middle frame.
The Huskies pulled away in the third as Peter Abbandonato struck off the rush, entering the zone with speed before taking a pass from Jakub Lauko for the finish past the glove of Gravel at 3:02.
Vincent Marleau provided Rouyn-Noranda with insurance two minutes later at 5:03 after the Huskies controlled the play along the boards. Mathieu Gagnon sent a low shot on the Halifax goal, inspiring a rebound for Marleau who provided the finish to put his team in the lead 4-2.
The Huskies outshot the Mooseheads 11-9 in the third to hear the final horn sound, streaming onto the ice in celebration.
After winning a Memorial Cup with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan last year, Huskies head coach Mario Pouliot becomes the first head coach in CHL history to win back-to-back Memorial Cups with two different teams. He joins Don Hay (Kamloops ’94, ’95 & Vancouver ’07) and Bryan Maxwell (Medicine Hat ’87, Spokane ’91) as the third coach to win with two different franchises.
On the ice, Huskies blueliner Noah Dobson is the first player since Kitchener’s Robert Savard in 1982 to win back-to-back Memorial Cups with two different teams. He joins three others in Daniel Robertson (Windsor ’17, Oshawa ’15), Stephen MacAulay (Halifax ’13, Saint John ’11) and Gary Roberts (Guelph ’86, Ottawa ’84) to accomplish the feat.
The Halifax Mooseheads played to a 49-win season before finishing the QMJHL Playoffs as league finalists. They skated to a 2-2 record at the Memorial Cup Presented by Kia, being led in scoring by Maxim Trépanier who had six points (1-5–6) in four games.
The Memorial Cup champion Huskies featured six different players with five points or more led by Boston Bruins prospect Jakub Lauko who led the tournament with eight points (2-6–8).
