2018 Memorial Cup Memories
As part of the Canadian Hockey League’s Memorial Cup Memories series between May 25 and June 21, CHL on Sportsnet talent including RJ Broadhead, Sam Cosentino, and Rob Faulds will recall some of their most memorable moments from tournaments over the last decade, and we’ll recap the highlights to help set the stage for 10 championship game rebroadcasts on CHL.ca.
2018 marked the centennial celebration of the CHL’s prestigious national championship with hosting rights awarded to the Regina Pats, the league’s oldest franchise, whose moniker coincides with the commemoration of the Memorial Cup.
On the ice, Regina played to a 2-1 record through round-robin action, matching the performance of the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs and QMJHL winning Acadie-Bathurst Titan who advanced directly to the final by virtue of a tiebreak formula. The WHL champion Swift Current Broncos were eliminated with an 0-3 record.
The Pats played in the very first Memorial Cup final back in 1919 and made sure they would challenge for the 100th by knocking out the Bulldogs in a 4-2 Semi-Final that drew a two-point effort from Anaheim Ducks first-round pick Sam Steel who was later presented with the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the tournament’s most valuable player following a leading 13-point performance across five showings.
In the Championship Final, however, the tide turned when the Pats and Titan reconnected, ending in a 3-0 victory for Acadie-Bathurst following a 28-save performance from St. Louis Blues prospect Evan Fitzpatrick for the first shutout victory in a deciding game since 2005. The win marked a franchise-first Memorial Cup title for the small market Titan and the first for a QMJHL squad since the Halifax Mooseheads five years before.
Furthering the accolades, three Titan players earned recognition as part of the Memorial Cup All-Star Team including forward Samuel Asselin, captain Jeffrey Truchon-Viel, as well as defenceman Noah Dobson, who in the coming weeks also heard his name called 12th overall by the New York Islanders at the 2018 NHL Draft.
In all, the Memorial Cup victory was a continuation of the Titan’s success from the QMJHL playoffs where the club posted a 16-4 showing culminating in a six-game series victory versus the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada to capture its second President’s Cup title since setting up shop in Bathurst in 1998.
Quick Hits
Tournament Scores
May 18 – Regina 3 vs. Hamilton 2
May 19 – Acadie-Bathurst 4 vs. Swift Current 3 (OT)
May 20 – Acadie-Bathurst 8 vs. Regina 6
May 21 – Hamilton 2 vs. Swift Current 1
May 22 – Hamilton 3 vs. Acadie-Bathurst 2
May 23 – Swift Current 5 vs. Regina 6
May 25 (Semi-Final) – Regina 4 vs. Hamilton 2
May 27 (Final) – Acadie-Bathurst 3 vs. Regina 0
Awards:
Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (MVP) – Sam Steel, Regina
Ed Chynoweth Trophy (Leading Scorer) – Sam Steel, Regina
George Parsons Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike) – Adam Holwell, Acadie-Bathurst
Hap Emms Memorial Trophy (Top Goaltender) – Kaden Fulcher, Hamilton
All-Stars:
Forwards: Samuel Asselin (Acadie-Bathurst), Sam Steel (Regina), Jeffrey Truchon-Viel (Acadie-Bathurst)
Defence: Noah Dobson (Acadie-Bathurst), Josh Mahura (Regina)
Goaltender: Max Paddock (Regina)
NHL Alumni:
Acadie-Bathurst Titan
D – Noah Dobson
F – German Rubtsov
Hamilton Bulldogs
G – Kaden Fulcher
D – Ben Gleason
D – Riley Stillman
F – Nicholas Caamano
F – Robert Thomas
Regina Pats
D – Cale Fleury
D – Libor Hajek
D – Josh Mahura
F – Sam Steel
Swift Current Broncos
F – Beck Malenstyn
Relive the action between the Titan and Pats on Thursday’s rebroadcast streaming live at 7 p.m. ET on CHL.ca.