MEMBERTOU, Nova Scotia – The Cantonniers de Magog have won their second TELUS Cup after defeating the Brandon Wheat Kings 4-1 to complete a perfect 7-0 week at Canada’s Men’s U18 National Club Championship. 

It’s the fifth medal for the Cantonniers at the TELUS Cup, joining the gold medal won in 2000, and the silver medals from 2018, 2019 and 2022. 

Gabriel Courchesne (Drummondville, QC) netted the game-winning goal on the power play in the final minutes of the opening period. Courchesne, who had five multi-point games and at least one point in six of seven, finished as the tournament leader in goals (10) and points (15).

“This is an amazing feeling. We worked hard all year long for this moment, and we are all so happy to win this tournament. We have 20 players on our team that can do their job perfectly within our system, and that is what makes our group special,” Courchesne said. “We knew about the last three losses [in the gold medal game] this team had at the TELUS Cup, so we wanted to get a win for the coaches that lost those games, our program and ourselves.”

Simon-Xavier Cyr (Sherbrooke, QC) beat Brandon netminder Burke Hood (Brandon, MB) to open the scoring for the Cantonniers 11:58 into the game before Easton Odut (Brandon, MB) evened the score just over three minutes later. The Cantonniers added goals from Marc-Olivier Proteau (Lac-Mégantic, QC) and Antoine Boudreau (Drummondville, QC), who also contributed two assists apiece, in the second period to secure the win.

“I had such a sense of pride watching my players win every game this week, and it was an unbelievable feeling when I was able to rejoin my second family [for the semifinal] on Saturday,” said Magog head coach Samuel Collard (Sherbrooke, QC). “We wanted to bring this trophy back to Magog, and we never took anything for granted this week right up until the last minute. All year, we wanted to be a team that works hard and sticks together, and that is exactly what we did.”

Kyan Labbé (Sherbrooke, QC) made 19 saves for Magog to cap off an impressive tournament, leading all goaltenders in goals-against average (1.71) and save percentage (.942). Hood turned in a stellar performance in net for the Wheat Kings, making 42 saves.

“We worked all season to be national champions, and to be able to say that we accomplished that with people that we have been playing with since we were 10 years old is amazing. When we got the lead, we knew we needed to stay calm and we ended up getting two big goals in the second period,” said Labbé. “This is an incredible tournament, and we only had one thing on our minds here, and that was to win. This is a team that loves each other and we are really going to enjoy this win.”

A full game summary game be found HERE.

In between the medal games, Hockey Canada announced the 2024 TELUS Cup tournament awards:

• Most Valuable Player – Gabriel Courchesne (Drummondville, QC), Magog Cantonniers
• Top Forward – Antoine Boudreau (Drummondville, QC), Magog Cantonniers
• Top Defence – Liam O’Neill (Calgary, AB), Calgary Buffaloes
• Top Goaltender – Kyan Labbé (Sherbrooke, QC), Magog Cantonniers
• Most Sportsmanlike Player – Brady Turko (Brandon, MB), Brandon Wheat Kings
• TELUS Cup Scholarship ($1,000) – Ryan Piggot (Richmond Hill, ON), Markham Waxers

Calgary Buffaloes defeat Markham Waxers 4-3 in shootout to win bronze

Earlier in the day, Calgary rebounded from a 4-1 loss to Brandon in the semifinals to win the bronze medal, defeating the Markham Waxers 4-3 in a shootout to secure its seventh medal at the TELUS Cup.

Brayden Gourley (Calgary, AB) and Rhys Jamieson (Calgary, AB) scored in the shootout to give Calgary its third bronze all-time. Kael Svensson (Calgary, AB) turned aside all four attempts he faced in the shootout after making 36 saves in regulation and overtime, while Eamon Callaghan (Oshawa, ON) stopped 23 shots.

“I just wanted to stay calm and collected, and I trusted our guys to get the job done. The boys battled really hard, and we had to go through a little bit of adversity, but we were able get through it and come away with the win,” said Svenson. “It feels great [to win the bronze medal]. We really wanted to finish the tournament with a win, and although we did not come away with gold, we wanted to leave with something. I could not be more proud of this team.”

The teams traded goals in the opening two periods before Piggott scored on a partial breakaway to give Markham a 3-2 lead midway through the third. Calgary tied it just over four minutes later when Christian Stephanson (Calgary, AB) beat Callaghan for a shorthanded goal. Calgary and Markham traded chances in the 3-on-3 extra frame, but neither team could find the back of the net.

A full game summary game be found HERE. To download game highlights from the bronze medal game, please CLICK HERE.

For more information on Hockey Canada and the 2024 TELUS Cup, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along through social media on Facebook, X and Instagram, and by using #TELUSCup.