Ryan Howe is grateful for a lot of things – family, friends, hockey and, most importantly, life.

Wearing the ‘C’ for the Red Lake Miners at the 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, the 21-year-old from Caledon, Ont., wasn’t sure he would get an opportunity like this five years ago.

“It was a pretty traumatic experience, and it was near death, so for me, I am just grateful that I am here,” says Howe. “I appreciate the little things in life a little bit more.”

Five years ago, Howe was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a bowel ailment that causes chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.

He didn’t go to school for four months and was hospitalized for six weeks at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He was diagnosed with a toxic megacolon, which is a rare disease that occurs when swelling and inflammation spreads into the deeper layers of the colon. As a result, the colon stops working and widens.

“There was a high chance that I would need a surgical procedure. Luckily, I didn’t,” Howe says. “I was also diagnosed as anemic as I struggled with iron deficiency.”

Throughout his illness, Howe dropped a significant amount of weight. When healthy, the forward weighed around 165 pounds. During his hospital stay, he lost 66 of those – dropping to just 99 pounds as a 16-year-old athlete.

“I didn’t know if I would ever be able to play hockey again,” he says.

When he was released from the hospital, Howe weighed 120 pounds. His recovery focused on getting stronger every month.

“For me, it was just about trying to gain a little bit every month and get stronger,” he says. “I struggled a lot that summer because I didn’t have a lot of energy.”

When Howe stepped back on the ice for his second year of U18 AAA with the Mississauga Senators, he was back to his regular weight but wasn’t where he wanted to be hockey-wise.

“I wasn’t playing my best hockey at all – it was a struggle,” Howe says. “I couldn’t take a couple of strides or raise the puck on my stick – I was too weak. It took a lot of time to get there. It was a long journey.”

Throughout the experience, Howe understood that life can change quickly, and to embrace the little things.

“After that experience, I looked at not just hockey, but life in general, differently,” he says. “I was 16 years old and very athletic and doing well in hockey. My future was looking bright in terms of hockey options and unfortunately a lot of things changed. My focus wasn’t so much on hockey, it was about health.”

Now, he doesn’t take an opportunity he is given for granted.

“Looking back on everything, I appreciate things in life. I am very grateful that I even get a chance to still play hockey. I was originally told that the doctors didn’t know if I could play again,” Howe says. “Going from that to being able to play at the Centennial Cup is awesome and I’m grateful to be here.”

Howe still has an extensive regime to follow to stay healthy – every six weeks, his doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital ship out a Remicade infusion that is administered in Red Lake. Those take two hours to sit through, as well as a daily iron pill and digestive enzymes.

“He is a special kid who does things the right way,” says Geoff Walker, head coach and general manger of the Miners. “He is stronger as a person and there isn’t much more life can throw at him.”

Walker has watched Howe develop over the past three years with the Miners, naming him captain this season. The growth he has seen on and off the ice has been most impactful with his teammates.

“He is calm, cool and in control and that has rubbed off on the team. He has made my job a lot easier,” says Walker. “I’ve seen him grow a lot; coming from Toronto to Red Lake isn’t easy, but he took it in stride, and he moved into that leadership role so seamlessly.”

For Howe, he has used his experience to share that wins and losses aren’t the most important things. And the Miners have fed off what Howe has preached all season – doing it together.

“Winning matters, but I wanted it to be a close group and it has been all year. These guys are my best friends,” Howe says. “The Centennial Cup is a prestigious tournament and playing against the best [Junior A] teams in Canada is a cool experience. We know we are the underdogs, but we are trying to embrace the moment.”

Ottawa Jr. Senators 4, Soo Thunderbirds 0

• Game stats available here

Summerside Western Capitals 4, Flin Flon Bombers 1

• Game stats available here

Estevan Bruins 5, Red Lake Miners 2

• Game stats available here

Next games – Tuesday, May 24:

• Pickering Panthers vs. Brooks Bandits (2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT)
• Dauphin Kings vs. Flin Flon Bombers (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT)
• Collège Français de Longueuil vs. Red Lake Miners (9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT)

TSN and RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcast partners, will broadcast the championship game at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on May 29, with all preliminary-round and playoff-round games livestreamed at HockeyCanada.ca.

Quotes:

“I really like the way our guys played; [there was] a lot of creativity and they were skating really well. That looked more like our group [in the third period]; I’m glad they could capitalize on some chances and have positive things going into the next game. I still think we can add a little bit more desperation and can rise to the moment a little quicker. We don’t want to have this feeling-out process every night with teams. I want our guys to capitalize on the opportunities they get, have all 20 pulling in the same direction and see what happens each game from there.”

- Ottawa Jr. Senators head coach Kyle Makaric on his team overcoming slow starts

“In a tournament like this, every game you want to play your best and you want to win. Last night, we didn’t feel that the game (a 7-1 loss to Dauphin) was indicative of the score. We felt we were really good five-on-five, [but we] had a lot of penalties, and our [penalty kill] was out there a lot. So it was nice to come and get the big win [today].”

- Summerside Western Capitals assistant coach Rod Gallant on his team’s resiliency

“ Boston (Bilous) came up with a couple of big saves there, we played a pretty good game but definitely still not up to where we need to be. If he doesn’t make that crazy glove save and the one at the end, it’s a 5-4 game, and you never know what can happen. We’re not satisfied but obviously happy with the win and we hope someone can do us a favour tomorrow.”

- Estevan Bruins captain Eric Houk keeping their tournament hopes alive

For more information on the 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Dauphin Kings 7, Summerside Western Capitals 1

• Game stats available here

Pickering Panthers 3, Collège Français de Longueuil 2 (OT)

• Game stats available here

Next games – Monday, May 23:

• Ottawa Jr. Senators vs. Soo Thunderbirds (2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT)
• Flin Flon Bombers vs. Summerside Western Capitals (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT)
• Red Lake Miners vs. Estevan Bruins (9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT)

TSN and RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcast partners, will broadcast the championship game at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on May 29, with all preliminary-round and playoff-round games livestreamed at HockeyCanada.ca.

Quotes:

“I think the biggest thing is when we are on our toes and competing and hard on pucks, we are a good hockey team. We have done that all year, and when we’re relentless, get after guys instead of sitting and watching, we play better. Sometimes you get in a tournament like this and guys are spectators instead of players. Even the last game we sat back in the first 10 minutes, so we just have to be ready to play and start on time.”

- Dauphin Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley on his team’s five-goal second period

“We had a really good first period; that’s the type of game we want to have early on. The second period was probably 50-50, and the third it was important for us to come out strong and manage the puck well. We have to give [Pickering] credit, they pushed back. We just have to keep our heads up and make sure we’re coming back stronger the next game.”

- Collège Français de Longueuil head coach Éric Bouchard on an overtime loss to Pickering

“If you come into this tournament and understand that the round robin is huge, we understand how important of a win this was for us. We just told the guys, when we get to overtime just go for it, be smart and go for it. We got a lucky bounce, the puck bounced out and [Ian Martin] did a great job racing for the puck. He got the job done for us.”

- Pickering Panthers head coach Rob Pearson on a key victory for his team

For more information on the 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Brooks Bandits 11, Red Lake Miners 4

• Game stats available here

Flin Flon Bombers 3, Ottawa Jr. Senators 2 (OT)

• Game stats available here

Pickering Panthers 10, Estevan Bruins 5

• Game stats available here

Next games – Sunday, May 22:

• Dauphin Kings vs. Summerside Western Capitals (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT)
• Collège Français de Longueuil vs. Pickering Panthers (9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT)

TSN and RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcast partners, will broadcast the championship game at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on May 29, with all preliminary-round and playoff-round games livestreamed at HockeyCanada.ca.

Quotes:

“I didn’t think we were very good for the first two periods. We only gave up 10 shots (through 40 minutes), with four of them being high-quality chances and I don’t think we were fair to our goaltender. We played extremely loose, not very detailed or with intensity, but the third period was a better version of ourselves. We still have to do a better job of playing like we did in the third from the start of the game.”

- Brooks Bandits head coach Ryan Papaioannou on wanting a better effort from his team

“I saw [Drew] Kuzma coming up the wall with their two guys [and there was] some open space and the five-hole open, so I took a shot and it went in. It was amazing; it’s a huge win for us. We’re the only team here without a championship and that’s what we’re trying to win, so two wins in two games is big for us.”

- Flin Flon Bombers forward Xavier Lapointe on scoring the overtime winner

“I think the kids realized in the second intermission [tied 5-5] that we have a chance. We knew we were playing against a great team and maybe we had them on the ropes a little bit as we were able to keep hanging around. We’re in a tough pool, but we can’t take the foot off the gas; we have to keep pushing and let everyone know the Pickering Panthers are here.”

- Pickering Panthers head coach Rob Pearson on his team’s confidence moving forward

For more information on the 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Dauphin Kings 2, Ottawa Jr. Senators 1

• Game stats available here

Summerside Western Capitals 4, Soo Thunderbirds 1

• Game stats available here

Collège Français de Longueuil 5, Estevan Bruins 3

• Game stats available here

Next games – Saturday, May 21:

• Red Lake Miners vs. Brooks Bandits (2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT)
• Flin Flon Bombers vs. Ottawa Jr. Senators (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT)
• Estevan Bruins vs. Pickering Panthers (9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT)

TSN and RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcast partners, will broadcast the championship game at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on May 29, with all preliminary-round and playoff-round games livestreamed at HockeyCanada.ca.

Quotes:

“I thought we started flat, but I also don’t think people expected us to win. We have kind of been overlooked all year, including the [MJHL] championship. We have the mindset coming into the tournament that we have something to prove, we’re excited for it and that’s why we are here.”

- Dauphin Kings forward Nakodan Greyeyes on the team’s tournament-opening win

“We haven’t played in 18 days and we weren’t real sharp in the first 10 minutes. We didn’t come out with any speed, but as the game wore on, I felt we took over and were able to dominate a bit. I think there are still a few things we can tweak and areas to get better at and we’ll prepare for that over the next 24 hours.”

- Summerside Western Capitals head coach Bill McGuigan on overcoming a slow start

“We were down 3-1, but the team played well in front of me. There were a lot of shots, but we watched a lot of video. Our coach did a good job scouting them and having us prepared for the game.”

- Collège Français de Longueuil goaltender Simon Bérubé on his team’s performance

For more information on the 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Pickering Panthers 9, Red Lake Miners 2

• Game stats available here

Flin Flon Bombers 6, Soo Thunderbirds 1

• Game stats available here

Brooks Bandits 5, Collège Français de Longueuil 2

• Game stats available here

Next games – Friday, May 20:

• Ottawa Jr. Senators vs. Dauphin Kings (2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT)
• Summerside Western Capitals vs. Soo Thunderbirds (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT)
• Estevan Bruins vs. Collège Français de Longueuil (9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT)

TSN and RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcast partners, will broadcast the championship game at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on May 29, with all preliminary-round and playoff-round games livestreamed at HockeyCanada.ca.

Quotes:

“I liked that when we came out, we were a little rusty; I think that was with the quick turnaround and maybe still excited about winning the OJHL title and coming here, but being able to capitalize on a couple of goals right away settled us and put us at ease. I think once we started that, we played a better game, but I still think we have to play a lot better defensively and make sure we can contain and keep our opponents to the outside; other that it was a pretty solid job.”

- Pickering Panthers head coach Rob Pearson on his team’s performance against Red Lake

“It’s always good to get a win in your first game, coming off a tough loss in Game 7 [in the SJHL final against Estevan] we always talk about how good teams respond. It was two weeks ago, but we got the win and feel good. We know we can get better, get our legs under us and still be better the next game.”

- Flin Flon Bombers head coach Mike Reagan on the tournament-opening win over Soo

“The preparation we do each and every day to prepare for games [is so important], and our coaching staff does a great job to set us up for success. We also have a great group of guys in the room, and it’s fun to play with them. We still have one guy from that [2019] championship team, our captain Ethan Lund, so we’re trying our best to defend that championship and win one because we have a lot of new guys that are hungry for it.”

- Brooks Bandits forward T.J. Hughes on his team’s success

For more information on the 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along onFacebook, Twitter and Instagram.

When building the 2021-22 edition of the Estevan Bruins, the team that would host the 50th edition of Canada’s National Junior A Championship, Jason Tatarnic’s recruiting process was a pretty simple one.

“We wanted players that cared about the national championship and wanted to be here for that,” the head coach and general manager says. “If that wasn't mentioned in the first 30 seconds, we moved on to the next player.”

The process worked. The Bruins will welcome the country’s best teams for the 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, with their sights firmly set on adding a national title to what they’ve already accomplished this season.

Estevan rebounded from a relatively slow start (it was 6-3-1 after 10 games) to top the regular-season standings in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) for the first time since 2004-05, winning a league-high 41 games in regulation time and edging out the Humboldt Broncos by a single point on the last day of the season.

The Bruins finished with the most goals scored, fewest goals allowed, third-best power play and second-best penalty kill, and iced a lineup that included seven players with at least 40 points.

They cruised through the first two rounds of the playoffs, dropping their postseason opener in double overtime to Notre Dame before rattling off eight consecutive wins to beat the Hounds and Yorkton Terriers.

That set up a showdown in the SJHL final against the Flin Flon Bombers (who confirmed their spot at the Centennial Cup with their appearance in the championship series).

Estevan had finished 20 points clear of Flin Flon during the regular season, but that didn’t matter with the biggest prize on the Prairies on the line. The back-and-forth series went the distance with the home team winning every game, capped by a 2-0 Bruins victory in front of a capacity crowd in Game 7 to clinch their first SJHL title in 23 years.

The national championship is important to the Bruins, but so was getting there through the front door.

“Our first focus [was] the SJHL and our guys wanted to win that very badly,” Tatarnic says. “It was really important to them. When it happened, you could see the joy and the happiness.

“There's a lot of pride in this league to be a league champion. And for us, that was a goal. We wanted to go in [to the Centennial Cup] as a champion. We didn't want to go in as second fiddle.”

The Bruins are hoping the recent run of success by host teams continues; in the last five National Junior A Championships, the home side has appeared in all five championship games, winning a quartet of national titles – Portage in 2015, Cobourg in 2017, Chilliwack in 2018 and Brooks in 2019.

Estevan opens its Centennial Cup schedule against the Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Québec champions, Collège Français de Longueuil, on May 20.

HOW THEY GOT TO ESTEVAN

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League
Quarterfinal: defeated Notre Dame 4-1 (3-4 2OT, 4-1, 6-1, 3-2, 8-1)
Semifinal: defeated Yorkton 4-0 (7-4, 3-1, 2-1, 7-2)
SJHL championship: defeated Flin Flon 4-3 (4-2, 2-0, 3-4, 1-7, 2-3 OT, 1-6, 2-0)

REGULAR SEASON

Record (W-L-OTL): 43-10-5 (1st in SJHL)
Goals for: 262 (1st in SJHL)
Goals against: 124 (1st in SJHL)
Power play: 59 for 267 (22.1% – 3rd in SJHL)
Penalty killing: 211 or 234 (90.2% – 2nd in SJHL)
Longest winning streak: 6 (Oct. 23-Nov. 6)
Top 3 scorers:
• Mark Rumsey – 39G 37A 76P (3rd in SJHL)
• Olivier Pouliot – 22G 43A 65P (6th in SJHL)
• Mikol Sartor – 15G 36A 51P (16th in SJHL)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 12-4
Goals for: 59
Goals against: 38
Power play: 15 for 76 (19.7%)
Penalty killing: 57 of 65 (87.7%)
Top 3 scorers:
• Olivier Pouliot – 11G 11A 22P
• Eric Pearce – 10G 8A 18P
• Mark Rumsey – 8G 7A 15P

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

1999 – Estevan Bruins | fifth place | 1-3 | 11GF 17GA

COMMITMENTS

Caelan Fitzpatrick – Niagara University (2022-23)
Eric Houk – University of Regina (2022-23)
Eric Pearce – University of Regina (2022-23)
Olivier Pouliot – Lakehead University (2022-23)
Mark Rumsey – University of Saskatchewan (2022-23)

CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS

Oct. 4 – 2nd
Oct. 11 – not ranked
Oct. 18 – not ranked
Oct. 25 – not ranked
Nov. 1 – not ranked
Nov. 8 – 20th
Nov. 15 – 19th
Nov. 22 – 14th
Nov. 29 – 13th
Dec. 6 – 10th
Dec. 13 – 13th
Dec. 20 – 17th
Feb. 7 – 7th
Feb. 14 – 9th
Feb. 21 – 9th
Feb. 28 – 10th
March 7 – 11th
March 14 – 10th
March 21 – 10th

Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

The Pickering Panthers will step onto the ice for the opening game of the 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, on Thursday afternoon, just 88 hours after they claimed the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) title.

While other teams have had plenty of time to heal up and prepare for Canada’s National Junior A Championship – the Red Lake Miners haven’t played since winning the SIJHL crown on April 30 – the Panthers had just three days to get ready, including a full day of travel to Estevan on Tuesday.

Pickering head coach and general manager Rob Pearson doesn’t see that as a negative.

“You can look at it both ways,” he says. “If you're going to sit for two, three, four weeks and be waiting, sometimes you're a little rusty. When you just win a series and you [only] have a couple days rest with a little travel, hopefully you can just keep the momentum running and keep it going.”

There’s no argument that the Panthers are battle-tested, due in large part to the OJHL’s condensed playoff format, where a single subpar performance in the first two rounds could quickly put a team on the brink of elimination.

Before they were pushed to seven games by the Toronto Jr. Canadiens in the OJHL final, the Panthers had made quick work of their postseason opponents – they swept Stouffville and Collingwood in best-of-three series and took out Milton in three straight in the semifinals.

That unbeaten run came to a quick stop against the Jr. Canadiens, who started the final series with consecutive wins and took a 3-0 lead less than nine minutes into Game 3.

But the Panthers refused to roll over, getting even by the 3:41 mark of the second period and earning an all-important victory when Lucas Rowe scored with 13 seconds to go in the middle frame.

Pickering evened the series with a 4-0 win in Game 4, backstopped by a 37-save shutout from Zachary Roy, before the teams traded double-overtime victories to force a deciding game.

Game 7 went back and forth; Toronto led 1-0, Pickering led 2-1, Toronto led 3-2. With the game even at 3-3 and a third-consecutive overtime looming, 17-year-old Ryan Johnstone netted the biggest goal in Panthers history, scoring with 37.7 seconds remaining to send Pickering west to Estevan.

“Sometimes that little adversity helps, to be able to bounce back from that and to push through it,” Pearson says of the back-and-forth battle. “And the team was able to do that. They never quit, which was great. Doesn't matter what the score is in the first or second, they're fighting to the end.”

It’s the first national championship appearance for the Panthers, who are in search of the first title for an OJHL team since the Cobourg Cougars won on home ice in 2017.

Pickering opens its Centennial Cup schedule against the Superior International Junior Hockey League champions, the Red Lake Miners, on May 19.

HOW THEY GOT TO ESTEVAN

Ontario Junior Hockey League
Preliminary round: defeated Stouffville 2-0 (4-2, 6-5 OT)
Quarterfinal: defeated Collingwood 2-0 (2-1 OT, 3-0)
Semifinal: defeated Milton 3-0 (4-3, 3-1, 7-2)
OJHL championship: defeated Toronto Jr. Canadiens 4-3 (4-6, 1-4, 5-4, 4-0, 2-1 2OT, 4-5 2OT, 4-3)

REGULAR SEASON

Record (W-L-T-OTL): 39-12-2-1 (2nd in OJHL)
Goals for: 199 (7th in OJHL)
Goals against: 135 (4th in OJHL)
Power play: 27 for 172 (15.7% – 11th in OJHL)
Penalty killing: 170 of 189 (90.0% – 3rd in OJHL)
Longest winning streak: 9 (Feb. 19-March 8)
Top 3 scorers:
• Ian Martin – 27G 29A 56P (20th in OJHL)
• Lucas Rowe – 24G 31A 55P (22nd in OJHL)
• Brendan Tomilson – 14G 41A 55P (23rd in OJHL)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 11-3
Goals for: 53
Goals against: 37
Power play: 12 for 50 (24.0%)
Penalty killing: 47 of 54 (87.0%)
Top 3 scorers:
• Dustin Hutton – 8G 9A 17P
• Brendan Tomilson – 0G 17A 17P
• Ian Martin – 8G 7A 15P

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

First appearance

COMMITMENTS

Elijah Pilosof – Brown University (2022-23)
Zachary Roy – Nipissing University (2022-23)
Brendan Tomilson – York University (2022-23)

CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS

Oct. 4 – 9th
Oct. 11 – not ranked
Oct. 18 – not ranked
Oct. 25 – not ranked
Nov. 1 – not ranked
Nov. 8 – not ranked
Nov. 15 – not ranked
Nov. 22 – 17th
Nov. 29 – Honourable Mention
Dec. 6 – 18th
Dec. 13 – Honourable Mention
Dec. 20 – Honourable Mention
Feb. 7 – 20th
Feb. 14 – 16th
Feb. 21 – 16th
Feb. 28 – 16th
March 7 – 13th
March 14 – 14th
March 21 – 15th

ESTEVAN, Sask. – The teams have booked their tickets to Estevan as the SJHL champion Bruins are set to welcome eight other Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) titlists for the 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, May 19-29 at Affinity Place.

Joining the host Bruins are the AJHL and 2019 national champion Brooks Bandits, Dauphin Kings (MJHL), the Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL), who fell to the Bruins in the SJHL final, Collège Français de Longueuil (LHJAAAQ), Ottawa Junior Senators (CCHL), Red Lake Miners (SIJHL), Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL), Pickering Panthers (OJHL) and Summerside Western Capitals (MHL).

“It is an exciting time for hockey fans and the community of Estevan; they have eagerly been anticipating the start of this year’s tournament,” said Ryan Robins, director of events and properties for Hockey Canada. “With all league champions, including the host Bruins, we expect an electric atmosphere for fans at Affinity Place as they witness the best in Canadian Junior A hockey and are part of such a unique event.”

The 50th edition of Canada’s National Junior A Championship features 20 preliminary-round games, starting at noon MT on May 19 when the Pickering Panthers face off against the Red Lake Miners. That game will be followed at 4 p.m. MT by the Soo Thunderbirds against the Flin Flon Bombers, and opening day wraps up when Collège Français de Longueuil faces the Brooks Bandits at 7:30 p.m. MT.

TSN and RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcast partners, will broadcast the championship game at 4 p.m. MT on May 29, with all preliminary-round and playoff-round games livestreamed at HockeyCanada.ca. 

Historically, the event has generated more than $2 million in local economic impact, with event proceeds being directed back into the community to support hockey growth and development.

For more information on the 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, please visit HockeyCanada.ca, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Collège Français de Longueuil is finally playing for Canada’s National Junior A Championship.

After coming agonizingly close during its decade-long run of success in the Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Quebec (LHJAAAQ), Longueuil is skipping the step it has historically stumbled at – the Fred Page Cup.

In six appearances at the East Region tournament since 2011, Collège Français has lost in the regional final (2011, 2018), lost in the semifinals (2015, 2016, 2017) and missed out on the playoffs altogether (2013).

But with regionals cancelled in the wake of COVID-19 shutdowns that affected Junior A leagues across the country, Longueuil’s sixth league title in the last 10 completed seasons comes with it a path directly to the 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons.

“It's a great opportunity,” says Longueuil head coach Eric Bouchard. “It's great visibility for our league, for the city of Longueuil. It's great experience for our players, as well. We've worked really hard to get here. We've been building this day since day one of training camp, and we had a really good progression along the way throughout the season. So, we're just excited to be here. It's going to be a great, great experience.”

The key to Collège Français’ success this season? Being really, really good at both ends of the ice.

To no one’s surprise, Longueuil scored and scored a lot, potting 265 goals in 41 games. That average of 6.46 goals per game was better than all other 118 Junior A teams in Canada; only three other teams – LHJAAAQ rivals Saint-Jérôme (6.36) and Beauce-Appalaches (6.05), and the Brooks Bandits (6.18) – averaged more than six goals a game.

Collège Français balanced its offence; Maxime Gagné won the LHJAAAQ scoring title with 94 points (40-54—94), but four other players had 50-point campaigns and another three reached the 30-point plateau.

So the offence was there, as expected.

But somewhat surprisingly, Collège Français was extremely stingy in the defensive end, allowing a league-low 105 goals – a whopping 55 less than Saint-Jérôme, which had the second-best defensive numbers.

Three goaltenders saw significant action, with Simon Bérubé (7-1, 2.38 GAA), Frederic Duteau-Labonte (12-1, 2.43 GAA) and Mathis Lacroix-Goulet (15-5, 2.66 GAA) finishing as three of the four LHJAAAQ netminders to post sub-3.00 goals-against averages.

The 200-foot success helped Longueuil to the top of the LHJAAAQ with only four regulation-time losses in 41 games, and after a slight stumble in the first round of the playoffs, when it went down 2-1 to Granby, it rolled off wins in 11 of its final 13 postseason contests, taking down Beauce-Appalaches in five games in the league final.

“I think our defensive game is helping us to get more time with the puck,” says Bouchard. “If we play well without the puck, we're to have more puck possession. And I think this is where we're building our offensive zone time.”

Now Collège Français gets its chance on the big stage, looking to become the first Quebec-based team to ever win a national title and the first to even reach the championship game since Châteauguay in 1993.

Longueuil opens its Centennial Cup schedule against the Alberta Junior Hockey League champions, the Brooks Bandits, on May 19.

HOW THEY GOT TO ESTEVAN

Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Québec
Quarterfinal: defeated Granby 4-2 (2-3, 4-2, 1-5, 2-1 OT, 6-2, 2-1)
Semifinal: defeated Terrebonne 4-1 (5-3, 1-5, 4-2, 8-4, 8-3)
LHJAAAQ championship: defeated Beauce-Appalaches 4-1 (6-2, 0-3, 3-0, 6-4, 6-4)

REGULAR SEASON

Record (W-L-OTL): 34-4-3 (1st in LHJAAAQ)
Goals for: 265 (1st in LHJAAAQ)
Goals against: 105 (1st in LHJAAAQ)
Power play: 55 for 192 (28.7% – 4th in LHJAAAQ)
Penalty killing: 121 of 142 (85.2% – 1st in LHJAAAQ)
Longest winning streak: 18 (Oct. 29-March 3)
Top 3 scorers:
• Maxime Gagné – 40G 54A 94P (1st in LHJAAAQ)
• Frédérick Latendresse – 30G 34A 64P (18th in LHJAAAQ)
• Owen Stammer – 30G 32A 62P (20th in LHJAAAQ)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 12-4
Goals for: 64
Goals against: 44
Power play: 17 for 59 (28.8%)
Penalty killing: 38 of 49 (77.6%)
Top 3 scorers:
• Maxime Gagné – 12G 19A 31P
• Tommy Bouchard – 12G 8A 20P
• Chris Roy – 10G 7A 17P

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

1990 – Sieurs de Longueuil | fourth place | 1-4 | 16GF 34GA

COMMITMENTS

None

CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS

Oct. 4 – 17th
Oct. 11 – not ranked\
Oct. 18 – not ranked
Oct. 25 – not ranked
Nov. 1 – Honourable Mention
Nov. 8 – 12th
Nov. 15 – 10th
Nov. 22 – 7th
Nov. 29 – 9th
Dec. 6 – 5th
Dec. 13 – 3rd
Dec. 20 – 5th
Feb. 7 – 5th
Feb. 14 – 5th
Feb. 21 – 2nd
Feb. 28 – 2nd
March 7 – 2nd
March 14 – 2nd
March 21 – 2nd